A New Mission: Tale of The Fake Nautilus
by Beck2
Summary: The conclusion to the story! Thank you all for your kind response!
1. A New Mission

Disclaimer: All characters with the exception of the urchin and dog and characters I may specify at a later date do not belong to me. Those characters that everyone knows do not belong to myself obviously don't belong to me, they belong to the people that created them. Those include, but are not limited too: Captain Nemo, Mina Harker, Rodney Skinner, Tom Sawyer, Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Edward Hyde.  

Wow. That's the most official sounding Disclaimer I have ever written.

Hello! LXG has to be one of my favorite movies, and after watching it several nights in a row, I decided to write my own fanfiction about it. That, and I figured I might try to expand the categories I write in, I've only written in one so far. So without further ado, I give you my very first LXG fic.

Hope you all like it. 

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Special Agent Tom Sawyer watched boredly as the streets bustled with carriages and street vendors.

It was less than exciting. He was itching to go somewhere and find some action. But here was better than being cooped up in the Nautilus, which was no offense to the great ship, but as long as they were docked he figured he might as well have a look around.

There was nothing truly special about this little town, except it had been the closest town that had some chemicals that Mina and Jekyll said they needed. Truth be known, it had been a slow couple of months for the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (and women, in Mina's case), and not a lot had been happening that required the League's help. 

Tom leaned against a wall, occasionally glancing at some fairly pretty women as they walked by, who giggled when they caught him looking at them. It got him some evil glares from some men, but he didn't really care.

"Tom!"

He looked over his shoulder to see Jekyll walking towards him. "What?"

"Nemo wants us back at the ship, it sounds urgent."

Tom felt his heart skip a half beat. Maybe today wasn't that boring after all.

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Nemo walked back and forth across the floor in the meeting room, fuming silently. 

" 'Ey, wot's all this? You wanted to see us?" Skinner's very distinct disembodied voice caused him to glance up. Skinner and Mina were standing at the doorway. Miraculously, Mina was not trying to kill him this time.

"Please, sit. We must wait for the others." He motioned for them to take seats. Mina sat across from the black trench coat that betrayed Skinner's position. 

A few minutes later (almost ten to be exact) the American agent and Dr. Jekyll arrived.

"Sorry for being late." Tom said nonchalantly.

"Yes." Jekyll said quietly as he sat next to Mina. 

"Some very distressing news has come to my attention. Apparently the Nautilus blew up a port."

He got blank stares in response.

"Something you want to tell us, Nemo?" Skinner quipped.

"A ship, bearing striking resemblance to my lady, has been sighted in port a hundred miles from London. That port was destroyed. London officials fear that the city may be next." 

"So there is a ship with the capabilities of the Nautilus?" Jekyll asked apprehensively. 

The Indian Captain stiffened a bit. "It would seem so." He was not pleased that someone would have a replica of his beloved ship.

"I guess we go to London…or that port." Tom mused. "I mean, if London top dogs are worried, there must be a reason."

Nemo nodded. "There were…notes. Written on the wreckage. One of them plainly said, London is next."

"Then we are going to London." Mina concluded.

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Tom, Henry, and Skinner (sans clothing) were watching the streets of London, hoping to find some clues. Mina and Nemo were watching the docks, waiting for a sign of the fake Nautilus.

"How do you think another Nautilus got built?" Tom asked aloud.

"Well, Sawyer, they use men and metal and—"

"I know that, Skinner! I meant, how did they make one so much like Nemo's? The report said there was no mistaking it for the Nautilus."

"Perhaps…" Jekyll's voice trailed off to nothing.

"Perhaps what?" Tom asked.

"When M's fortress was destroyed, perhaps we did not get all the plans burnt. Maybe a copy was taken."

"Well if that was true, then wouldn't we had heard more about it by now? I mean, you don't have somebody building something that big without  hearing something about it."

"You didn't hear much about the Nautilus before you joined, did you?" Skinner's disembodied voice commented. "All you heard about was 'The infamous captain Nemo!'"

"I suppose so." Tom resigned.

"But that would mean that there may be even more danger. How do we know, if Nautilus's blueprints were used, that there are no elixirs or invisible people running around?" Jekyll asked apprehensively. He did not like the idea of another Hyde wandering the streets.

" 'Ello! How are you two gentlemen today? Perhaps you'd like to try your luck at a little game?" A brown haired kid jumped out of an alleyway, almost scaring Jekyll half to death. Sawyer glared at the kid.

"Beat it kid."

"Oh, come on! Don't be sore just because you got a little scare! I'll make it up to you; you can play the first game for free!"

The kid was dressed fairly well…for a street urchin. The suit he wore was several sizes too big, and the kid was pretty young looking, with a very disarming smile.

"Didn't your parents teach you any manners?" He said, annoyed.

"Of course! That's why I'm letting you have a game free to make up for scaring you! Think of what you could win, a bounty in coins."

"I have enough money."

"I never said you didn't. Let's see…you look like men on a mission! Perhaps you need a map…information…"

"Well…fine what's the game?" he asked. Jekyll looked up timidly. "Sawyer…"

"It's all right."

"The game is simple gentlemen." The kid disappeared for a moment and came back with a little table. On said table was three bowls, and from an inside pocket, the kid pulled out a green cat's eye marble.  "Find the marble!" He placed it under the middle bowl.

"I played this game all the time back home. Say, you wouldn't happen to know some information?" Sawyer said confidently.

"I know a lot of things." He switched the bowls around a few times. "Alright, which bowl?"

The men stared at the kid. He'd only moved the bowls twice. Tom pointed to the left one. The kid picked up the bowl, and indeed, the marble was under it.

"You're good at this! Perhaps another game? Now that you know what to do, you can probably win a whole bunch of times. Only a few coins per play!" He looked at them innocently.

"I'm looking for some information on a ship."

"That's nice. Want to play?"

Tom glared at him. The kid gave him a steady innocent look back. He sighed and took some coins from his pocket and slapped them down.

"So what kind of ship you looking for? Nice ship in the docks. Heard it blew up a port a bit away from here." He began to move bowls again. Tom concentrated on the bowls while Jekyll listened to the kid. "But I personally think that's hogwash. I mean, why would a ship like that bother blowing up some nowhere port? I'd say the people who did that have issues, sides, it didn't have that little purple thing. Take your pick!" The kid stepped back from the table. Tom picked the middle one, which turned out to house the marble.

"You said something about purple?" Jekyll questioned.

"Yep. Play again, Mister?"

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Skinner shook his head in amusement at the kid. He was milking Sawyer and Jekyll for all they were worth.  Of course, they were just giving him pocket change. He wasn't going to get anywhere like that. He should've seen how much money he could get out of their wallets. 

He felt a breath against his foot and looked down. He almost yelped when he saw the massive dog standing next to him. How it had managed to sneak up on him, he didn't know. The dog looked at him quizzically then ignored him. It moved with incredible quietness towards Sawyer. 

Sawyer's wallet was sticking out of his back pocket as he bent down to watch the bowls move around. The dog leaned up and gripped the edge of the leather in its teeth and lifted it out of Sawyer's pocket, without him realizing anything. The dog then ducked back and went down an alleyway behind the gentlemen.

"So like I was saying, some insignia, purple it was…look at the time! Must be going, chaps. Hope you find what you're looking for!" The kid chirped, scooped up his belongings, tipped his hat slightly and went back down the alleyway, unhurried.

"Must have left because he kept losing. Not very good at his own scam." Tom said cockily.

"I think you got scammed worse than you think, mate." Skinner chortled.

"What are you talking about?" Tom asked confused. Skinner felt sorry for him.

"Pockets feel any emptier? They should."

He watched Tom pat his pants pockets. He suddenly straightened up. "My wallet! What happened?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"What happened?" 

"A dog stole your wallet while you were wasting time with the kid. And judgin' by the way he didn't miss a beat, he knew it was goin' to happen."

"Why that little…he was probably lying the entire time!" Sawyer fumed.

"Perhaps we should go back to the ship." Jekyll suggested quietly.

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"Not bad, me little doggy. That American was practically walking sideways, glad we managed to straiten his gait, eh?" The kid grinned, twirling the wallet. The big dog had a canine grin on his face. The duo disappeared quickly into the depths of the city.

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Well? What did you think? Constructive criticisms are welcomed with open arms, encouragement reviews as well, and flames…well, flames will be looked at, and determined whether or not they have any grounds. If so, well, I'll make an attempt to do better. If not, well, I'm going to point, laugh at it, and then ignore it. 

Thank you.


	2. Short Lived battles

Chapter:2 :Short lived Battles

Author: Beck2

Shout-outs

Silent Bob 546: Yes, I really didn't mean for that to happen, but in that situation someone was bound to look stupid.

Dr. Logana Jekyll: Thank you so much for the advice, I tried to work in a bit more, like you said, but it may be next chapter before I get into the rhythm of it.

ThePet: Well…I'm very glad you liked the kid and the dog, they will be a source of constant hilarity, I wasn't really aiming for the kid to be Arabic, but rereading I can see the resemblance. 

Roses-r-red: I hadn't thought of that…that would be hilarious, I'll try to put that in the next chapter!

Clez: I hope to be writing much more, thank you very much!

Firestone: I always liked Jekyll as well, he's so…complicated. And wonderfully timid. Thank you so much!

Maikafuiniel: Thank you very much! I'm going to have to check out the Evo portion of your site.

Asteria: Thank you very much, when the identity of the kid is revealed, you should get a kick out of it. They were, in turn, inspired by Danny and her furry friend. 

Ravyn Nyte: I know, they're great, aren't they? Thank you!

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"We have learned very little, except that somewhere out in London there is a young boy carrying around Tom's wallet." Skinner snickered. He was visible now, with his coat, facemask, glasses and trilby. Nemo's eyebrows shot up questioningly. 

"What is this?"

"Some brat of a kid claimed to be giving us information while his sneaky pal grabbed my wallet." Tom said, still fuming. They were, once again, back in the meeting room of the ship.

"You sure it wasn't Skinner?" Mina's soft, slightly menacing voice asked.

"Ooh, Mina, I'm hurt. You're bein' unreasonable, darling." Skinner said with feigned hurt.

"And what did this child say? Perhaps the information was not all false." Nemo questioned.

"He said," Jekyll began very quiet, fidgeting with his watch, "that on the hull of this other ship was a purple insignia, but did not say what it was of." His voice finished a bit stronger than what he had started out. The Doctor had always been very nervous at these meetings, stumbling over his words.

"Not much of a help to us." Captain Nemo declared.  Jekyll shrank into his chair as Nemo began to question Skinner. "Did you pick up anything?"

"Nothin' material."

"Information, Skinner." Nemo said, annoyed.

"Not much, everyone's talkin' about the other port. No real information floating about."

"I suppose we will have to wait." Mina said as she folded a napkin that she had carried in her pocket. She never used it, but carried it, just in case.

"Great. Mind if I go back out and look around?" Tom said abruptly.

"If this is about the kid, better leave it, Tom. Take it from me, thieves know where to hide." Skinner told him. 

"Yes. We'd best stay here for now. Besides, it is almost dinner time." Nemo broke in. On his ship, his word was law. And for the League to be spread out over the city looking for some pickpocket would not do if some disaster struck.

"Alright." Tom resigned. However reluctantly.

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Jekyll rested his hands on the top of the rail looking out at London from the deck of the Nautilus. For dinner he had barely tasted anything, leaving an almost full plate on the table. As much as he liked trying new things, he had not felt hungry at all.

"Beautiful." He whispered to no one. It had been such a long time since he had been to London, his old home. He had been missing it so much. Ever since…Edward.

Edward was inside him now, hissing at him, wanting to be let out. But his resolve was stronger as of late, even if his nervousness had not dissipated. He was able to keep Edward Hyde at bay.

But the thought of his potion, that powerful elixir in the hands of others, spreading his disease…

It made him sick. 

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Quiet.

Ripples disturbed the placid waters as a ship a mile from the London port surfaced. Its looks, in almost every aspect, looked like the magnificent ship in the harbor. 

But upon the front of the ship, a purple insignia of a large snake eating a stag.

Inside the massive ship, rushing like ants in tunnels, a crew hurried to carry out orders. And in the steering room of this ship, a tall, gray haired man smoked his pipe as the ship pointed towards the dock, and the ship inside it.

"Finally, a confrontation between the greatest sea powers. Let's see what the mighty Nautilus can do against the Aurelius, Conqueror of the sea."

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An explosion rocked the ship. Mina had to leap away from falling chemicals in order not to get burned, though it would matter little. That didn't stop it from hurting. Anger flooded her as the ship shook. Her eyes glowed red as she ran from her room.

Crew members packed the halls, trying to get to their stations as another explosion hit.

"What's going on?" She yelled at one hapless member that appeared not to know where to go.

"We are under attack!"

"I can see that, by who?!" She yelled over the noise.

"A ship! A ship out in the water!" The crewman ran off.

"Where else would it be?" Mina hissed as she ran up to the deck.

"Fire the rockets at the intruder!" Nemo roared at his crew, who hastened to comply.

"Captain! A stray rocket from the attacking ship is heading toward the city!"

"We can do nothing for it. We can only prevent more from coming!" 

"What can I do?" Mina asked him.

"You can stay out of the way." He said sharply. 

Mina stepped back a little miffed, but the Captain was right, there was nothing she could do here. She left the room, and met Tom in the hall. 

"I'm going to check up on the doc, you wanna come?" He yelled over the noise. Mina nodded, welcoming any usefulness she might have in this.

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Jekyll struggled to stay upright as the ship rocked with every explosion. He had just been standing on the deck, watching the scenery when the first rocket had hit. He had almost been thrown into the water.  Now he was struggling to get back to the door.

Another rocket flew across, missing the ship by inches and heading into the city. He did not have time to think about what would happen to the inhabitants  when the rocket hit, as another projectile threw him to the deck.

"Henry!" He looked up to see Tom Sawyer at the door, holding out his hand for him to take. He grabbed it gratefully. But before he was dragged back into the ship, he caught sight of something on the hull of the rapidly approaching ship.

A purple insignia.

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"How disappointing." The grizzled man said. The Nautilus had several large holes in it, and was beginning to give back weapons fire. "Let's depart."

"Sir?" A crewmember asked puzzled.

"We have proved a valuable point. The Nautilus is no match for us. Let it fester with the wounds of defeat. We will destroy London…another day."

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"They are retreating Captain." A crewmember informed him.

Nemo was barely containing the raging fury he felt. How dare they attack like this? How dare they leave, as if the Nautilus was no longer a threat?

"Captain?" A crewmember spoke uncertainly. Nemo controlled his thoughts.

"Make repairs immediately. Care for the wounded, and send some men into the city to see what sort of damage that stray rocket caused." He ordered. The crewmembers hastened to obey. 

He left the room, and ran into Sawyer, Mina, and Jekyll. Jekyll looked extremely troubled.

"What is it, Doctor Jekyll?"

"I-It seems that," The doctor said hesitantly, "That the young man we met may… know more than we realized.  I saw a purple insignia on the hull…of the other ship."

"Then you must find him." Nemo said decisively. "We must know everything about the other ship. Everything." 

"Does anywhere know where Skinner is? We could use his help finding the kid, he knows what the dog looks like."

"I'm right here, and I'm going to need new quarters. That last bloody rocket took out half of my room." Skinner shook his head as he rounded the corner. "Not something you want happen when you're tryin' to have a nice drink."

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"It's a bloody good thing I'm so thin." The brown haired scam artist grumbled. The kid was squirming out of a hole not even a foot in diameter as the large gray dog watched. The dog, mostly gray with black and brown markings, had been outside of the building when it collapsed. The building was inhabited by the dregs of society, many of which were out. Such is the legacy of ladies of the night, and muggers, and such the like. Those few that didn't work at night were mostly stuck in the rubble or struggling to get out.

The kid managed to get free of the rubble and sighed.

"We're in trouble now. Simon will not be pleased. Maybe if we work hard, he won't find out, eh?" A light pat on the dog's head on the duo left the rubble that had once been their home.

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Thank you for all the wonderful feedback of the first chapter! 

Please leave your reviews in the magical box:

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	3. Gilly and Clunky

Chapter : Three: Clunky and Gilly

Author: Beck2

Shout-outs

Graymoon74:Heh, thank you very much. I agree about Nemo. He should get that ship back.

A.L. Nowicki: Thanks a bunch, I tried to get this up as soon as I could.

Raven Silvers: Thank you, and I figured that, if I saw some dog stealing my friend's wallet, I'd be too amazed to do anything about it. 

Clez: Thank you very much, poor Jekyll, I love that character.

Ravyn Nyte: Yes actually, I did get the inspiration from those two, and I think you should get the hidden joke in this chapter. 

Reyana Ashaete:Thank you very much!

Niani: Well, I plan on having several more chapters, I hope you like this one too.

Silent Bob 546:Thank you, it took me forever to find a good name. It was hard to find a name that might sound as impressive as the Nautilus. 

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The landing site of the stray rocket that hit London had toppled five buildings. Truly, it had not been the rocket's fault entirely for it had only hit one building, which then fell upon other buildings, all of which had been in a state of severe disrepair. They had obviously been a hazard beforehand. 

Jekyll fidgeted with his watch as he and the other League members surveyed the wreckage. It had been a general agreement that they would all come to see if there was anything they could do. Nemo's crew scurried about, helping city officials pull up debris, looking for survivors. Sawyer and Nemo were helping them. He had been drafted with Mina to tend to the wounded that were pulled out. Skinner was nowhere to be seen, but as he was invisible, this was not odd.

Jekyll watched as a dead body was pulled from the wreckage and winced at the sight.

_With all we've seen, you wince at that? I've done far worse Henry.                    _

"I know that far too well, Edward. Far too well." Jekyll whispered, taking pains for no one to hear him speaking with…well, himself.

"We were lucky. There weren't many people in this district when the buildings fell." Mina interrupted his thoughts. The vampire watched the scene impassively, coldly. He could not help but stare at her, as many of the men did. Sometimes she seemed so otherworldly, one couldn't help it, though he struggled too.  

"Yes." He agreed quietly, forcing his eyes to the scene before them. "We were."

The search for the boy and his dog would have to be postponed for now, until there was nothing more they could do to atone for allowing the missile through.

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"Look! They're digging up our flat." The boy pointed out a couple of men to his dog. "I think the day's looking up, we'll have our savings back and Simon shall be none the wiser."

The dog whapped his tail done in response, eager to do what was needed.

"Alright, here's the plan. I'll point out our nest egg and you snatch it, keep it with you and meet up where we usually do. Got that?"

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"I believe we have most everyone accounted for." A city worker panted as he used a shovel to unearth some debris. Sawyer pulled out a handkerchief and wiped some sweat off his brow.  

"That's good, I'm spent." The American wiped his grimy hands on the cloth, then noticed something in the dirt. 

"What's this?" He pulled a sack out of the dirt, and a piece of leather fell off of it. "That's my wallet!"

"WOOOF!" A massive gray dog snagged the bag in his jaws and landed his front paws into Sawyer's stomach, winding him and knocking him flat on his back. The dog leaped over him and took off, bag flapping in his jaws.

"Oy, Tom, that was the dog that stole your wallet!" Skinner's voice called from beyond the excavation area.

"He's not getting away!" Tom grabbed his wallet, which the hound left behind, and chased after the big dog, leaving the city worker scratching his head.

"I thought he said he was spent. Kids, too much energy."

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Tom bolted around a corner, almost careening into an old woman and upsetting a man, causing the man's parcels to go everywhere. He didn't stop to offer any apologies, the dog was already far ahead of him.

"Here boy!" He yelled, trying to get the dog to slow down. It only made the hound put more speed on.

Deciding to keep his breath for running, he pushed himself to go faster.

The dog rushed into a section of London that seemed to be like a small bazaar. People started screaming when the dog barreled through, and offered Tom insults in passing. There were a few vegetables thrown too, but he managed to dodge them.

Right ahead a couple of show carts were spread across the road, selling fresh tomatoes and eggs.

Tom confidently poured more speed on. The dog would never be able to jump those carts, not in a million years.

And that's exactly what the dog did. He jumped, _jumped _over the carts and landed on the other side with all four paws going.

_Well, hell. If he can do it so can I!  Tom braced himself to take the jump._

He almost made it. 

Almost being a certain key word.

His foot got caught and his head slammed face first into a basket of eggs. The yolk dripped down his face as he picked up his head.

And there was the dog. It was standing not three feet away.

He could have sworn it was grinning at him.

He glared at the dog. "You are going to be a rug when I get over there."

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"Blast it all." The boy rushed through the streets. As soon as he saw who had been holding the bag before the dog hit him he knew he had to beat feet out of there, no telling when one of his friends could show up. He always heard Americans traveled in pairs."It can't get any bloody worse."

"Hello Gilbert."

The boy mentally berated himself for saying those cursed words. Nothing ever good came from them. He put on his best poker face and turned and smiled at the speaker.

It was a man, tall and handsome, at least on the outside. On the inside he was a petty coward, but a mean one at that. He wore expensive clothes that probably came off some dead body, for as good as they looked on him. He had a toothy grin, which ladies found 'charming' and that the boy found to be a lot like a piranha. 

"'Ello Simon. 'Ow's business?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Oh, I'm working…just working."

"I see you don't have your dog, junky is it?"

"Clunky, actually, and he's working too, so if you excuse me Simon-"

"You haven't paid me yet this month."

"Haven't I? Well, don't you worry, order's in the mail you know…"

"I don't believe you." Some dark shapes started to move outside Gilbert's vision, and he knew they were Simon's henchmen. "And I think you need to pay up. Now."

Gilbert gave a nervous laugh. "Left my money with my dog."

"That's too bad. Now, what will we take for payment?" Some very big brutes started leering at the younger boy.

"Uh…confidence in my skill as a master of persuasion?" 

"I think not. Boys?"

A big man made a grab for Gilbert but he ducked and went through his legs and took off in the other direction. Behind him, Simon began yelling.

"Get him! Don't just stand there, he's only a boy!" Loud footfalls hurried after him.

"You've done it this time, Gilly, why can't you ever get things right?"  He berated himself again. Slipping though the crowd on the street on the other side of the alley, he weaved in and out of clumps of people. The brutes weren't far behind.

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"What is that noise?" Mina asked. Jekyll and Mina were walking about, trying to locate either the pick pocket or the missing Sawyer, both of which they were having little luck.

Jekyll looked over his shoulder. There were several large brutish men pushing people aside, intent at a target in front of them. One of them pulled a pistol and the street was suddenly a madhouse, with people rushing to get out of the danger zone.

Mina pushed him to the side. Shots rang out into the street and more hysteria ensued. Jekyll walked a bit away from Mina, trying to see what they were shooting at. Mina was…fulfilling otherworldly desires. 

She was hungry. And the men were full of blood. 

Someone, not looking where they were going, hit Jekyll full force and the both of them hit the ground. He groaned and sat up to see who had hit him. The shots had stopped coming in his direction, they were directed more to the vampire that was picking off the shooters.

It was the boy. The boy that had ripped off Sawyer and given the information about the insignia. He was staring at the display of violence between Mina and the gunmen with a mix of pure horror and morbid fascination. Jekyll swiftly clapped a shoulder onto the boy's collar. He gave a strangled yelp and struggled to free himself. Jekyll had to grab him with both hands so the kid couldn't get away.

"Bloody kidnapper! MURDER! HELP! MURDERERS! BLOODY SADISTS!" The boy's shouting was catching unwanted attention, and though Jekyll kept a firm hand on him, he was suddenly aware of all the looks he was getting.

Mina walked over swiftly. "We have to get back to the ship. What are you doing?"

The boy swiftly shut up, more than a little intimidated by the vampire.

"This is the boy that told us the information." Jekyll informed her. She smiled, showing fangs, which made the boy shiver with a kind of fear that only came from seeing those kind of smiles.

"And what is your name, boy?"

"Gilbert Nesmond. Gilly to just about everyone." The boy remembered enough manners to tip his hat with a free hand and giving a nervous smile, he added, "Thank you for taking care of those brutes for me, it was awfully nice of you."

"And now it is time for you to repay me." She smiled. "We want to ask you about something."

"It was not my fault that building fell, I had nothing to do with it, and your friend, the American, well, that was my fault, I suppose, sometimes I just can't control me own pets, you know, they have a mind of their own." The boy said this all very fast, as if eager to get it all out as fast as possible and be free.

"That's not what we wanted to talk to you about." Jekyll informed him. 

"Oh…uh…I knew that! Just wanted to answer some…side questions…in case you had them."

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Hmm…well, this chapter was difficult to write, I was presented with my very first case of writer's block, and I successfully muddled through it, I hope you all liked this chapter! Please leave your input!


	4. Nice Conversation

Chapter: Four: Nice Conversation

Author: Beck2

Maikafuiniel: Thank you! I was worried that it would royally stink, I'm glad you liked it. Heh, I need to work on my own evil laugh. People just look at me weird, they're never really scared.

Silent Bob 546: Thank you, I kind of feel bad for what I did to Sawyer, but it was still fun. 

Graymoon74: The little turkey? Heh, that's funny. Haven't heard someone called that in a while. Thank you so much!

Asteria: I knew you'd catch it. Thank you very much!

Dr.Logana Jekyll: Thank you, It took me forever to put that dog scene into words, and everyone seems to like it, I'm so happy. And please tell me if I'm slipping in something. You're the first person to give me constructive criticism on this fic.

Ravyn Nyte: Yup, that was where the inspiration came from, I'm glad you liked it!

Clez: I'm glad you liked it! So as not to disappoint, I tried to get this chapter up as soon as I could.

Rayne: Oh, thank you! I was worried that I was getting them out of character, which seems to be a problem for me sometimes. I'll see what I can do about Mina.

Raven Silvers: Hope you're doing okay with that stitch. Thank you, I'm glad you like the dog.

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"No bloody respect, I tell you, not a whit. Kidnapping me like this, it's a crime you know!"

"So is stealing." Henry reminded the grumbling boy. 

The lad shrugged in response. "Details."

Back on the ship, crewmembers were rushing to and fro to fix the hull of the beautiful ship. Nemo had been livid when he saw what kind of damage had been visited upon his creation, and Henry couldn't blame him. 

It had taken them an hour to take the fifteen minute walk back to the ship, mainly because the little scam artist managed to break away from him and took off down a side street, where he jumped a few crates and ran across the roofs. Luckily, Mina had managed to corner him and dragged him back.

This had furthered the boy's fear of the woman, and he did not attempt to run away again.

Henry kept a firm hand on his shoulder as he steered the boy to the meeting room. Mina was trailing back a bit, on the off chance that the boy would try to run off again. 

But the doctor didn't really think that was an issue.

Captain Nemo wasn't in the room when Henry opened the doors, so he assumed that he must be on the deck, checking over his instruments.

Henry sat the boy down in a chair, where the boy began to take in his surroundings. He, in turn, took a closer look at the boy.

The suit he wore was clean and not ripped, but it was threadbare. It was brown, with a few patches on the cuffs. The person that wore them was very small, barely head and shoulders above his own waist. The figure was also very thin, almost ghastly. A light freckling across his face added to the very endearing look that had tricked them in the first time. The hair was straight down, an odd murky brown. But it was the eyes that struck him.  The eyes were green, and though they had obviously been used in a scam or two, they were full of an understanding of the world in general. 

"Gettin' paid a lot for whatever it is you blokes do." The boy commented as he looked appreciatively about the room.

Mina closed the doors securely and sat in a chair across from Gilly. Henry kept standing in case the boy decided to run off again.

"When the rest of our group comes we'd like to ask you some questions." She locked gazes with the boy. The boy, as scared as he was of her, managed to hold her gaze a few seconds before breaking it, almost guiltily. He looked down at the table, suddenly very interested with the grain.

A couple seconds later the doors burst open as Captain Nemo strode in with Skinner in his usual black attire following.

"Eh, you caught the little bugger I see."

"Bugger you." Came the rude reply from Gilly. Skinner just grinned as he sat down next to Mina. Captain Nemo sat at the head of the table, as always, looking at the boy as he sullenly returned to studying the table. Henry sat down quietly in an empty seat that was usually across from Tom's. Now that there were other members there wouldn't be much of a chance the lad could make it out of his seat, much less out the door. And Henry felt uncomfortable standing while the others sat, it made him a focus of unnecessary attention. 

"Is Tom still chasin' after that damn dog?" Skinner said, not wanting to wait in silence.

"It seems so." Mina said primly. Silence once again reigned. 

*^*^*^*^*^^**^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Uncomfortable silences were never really his thing. Part of him was fighting down the urge to ask some stupid questions that would probably inevitably end up getting him tossed overboard, another part was trying to keep an outburst on his rights, however hypocritical that was, away from his mouth. Still another was battling with the choice of staying in his seat and waiting for whatever came, however bad it was, and jumping out of his chair and bolting for the doors and freedom. 

The fact that he had just seen the lovely lady across from him drain Simon's men of all the blood they had was giving a very good argument on both sides of that inner conflict. He could jump up, get caught, and become a snack, or he could stay here, get questioned, and still become a snack.

Not the future he had planned for himself. Though he could probably brag to his ancestors that he died in a way they didn't. But somehow, he just wasn't eager to tell them much of anything anytime soon.

Then there was the guy sitting next to him, the one who grabbed him. He had no doubts he could take him, but anyone who travels around with a ruddy vampire must have something up their sleeves.

Unless they were American. Then they were just American.

Then there was the hideously pale guy next to lady blood-sucker. He obviously had something for her, like the man who had caught him. His face was almost pure white, and almost looked like he fell into a flour bag and never washed it off.

Then there was the man at the head of the table. Indian. He'd seen enough to be able to pick out the ethnicity. He had a large sword at his side, and his hand was resting on the hilt. His eyes were enough to convince him that he probably shouldn't mess with this particular man, but never before had Gilly allowed that to stop him. 

Doing stupid things was part of his genetic code, passed down to him by all of his ancestors.

Now, the American had to be Tom, he mused.  Obviously that was who all of these people were waiting for.

But if he had gone after Clunky, then there was a fat chance he'd be coming back here victorious.

"ROWR! ROWR! ROWR!"

Speak of the devil. Gilly knew that bark anywhere. Clunky probably got bored waiting and went off to find him.

Beyond the doors there were Indian screams and curses. The people at the table looked at the door with amazement.

"GET BACK HERE YOU MUTT!"

"Tom's back." The pale faced man quipped.

Something hit the doors full force, breaking the door knob. A second later it burst open, with the large grey dog surging through it, their bag of savings still flapping in his jaws. Clunky took the table at a jump and lost his balance, sliding the length of it on his belly, ending up nose to nose with the Indian. A few seconds later came the American, taking time to lean on the side of the doorway, looking an absolute mess. 

Gilly just couldn't keep the grin from breaking across his face.

*^*^^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^*^*^*^**^*^*^

Captain Nemo glared at the massive dog on his table. The dog stared back at him, then wilted under his gaze, and slid off the side of the table to rejoin the young boy that Mina and Jekyll had brought in. The boy had a huge grin on his face at the state of Sawyer. 

Sawyer looked awful, his face was dirty, and his clothes looked stained.

"Wot did you do to yourself, Tom? Go swimmin' in a vegetable garden?"

"I chased that dog through the market. He tricked me."

Nemo raised an eyebrow at that, but let Skinner continue the questioning.

"'E tricked you."

"Never mind." He shot the boy a glare. Apparently the chase did not improve his mood.

 The dog sat down next to the boy, bag still in his jaws.

Captain Nemo stood up. "What is your name, boy?"

"Gilbert Nesmond." The boy had guarded eyes. 

"You gave Dr. Jekyll and Sawyer some information. That information turned out to be true. Now," He paused to consider his words , "was it just a coincidence, or do you know more about this ship? Or are you just some petty thief and liar?"

"I am a petty thief and liar. It is the basis of my business relationship, you know." Gilbert returned.

"That's true." Skinner commented. Nemo shot him a glare and Skinner swiftly shut up.

"The ship. What do you know about it?"

"It's made of metal, it floats, like all ships do, and it has a nifty purple insignia on it."

"I don't think you realize the severity of the situation." Mina's voice broke in softly. "We need information on that ship. And we will take it by any means necessary."

"Maybe you need a little info on who we are. We're The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and we are the only thing keeping you from World War." Sawyer broke in a little angrily.

"You? You couldn't even catch a bloody dog! What major contribution are you making?" Gilbert snapped back. The dog beside him growled. Jekyll started looking at it nervously.

"Don't push me." Sawyer growled and stood up. The boy jerked up and snarled "Or what?"

"SIT DOWN!" Nemo roared, and immediately the two looked at him, somewhat shocked. They both sat down uneasily, eyeing each other. "You, boy, will tell us what we need to know. The sooner you do, the sooner you may leave. Sawyer, you will control your temper." Nemo said strictly. 

He beckoned the boy. "Speak."

"I have a friend." The boy began haltingly, then started again. "Lexington Marks. He said he worked on some ship for your average terrorist group hell bent on causing their share of chaos."

"So much for love of country." Sawyer snorted. Nemo shot him a warning look.

"Well, he ain't native here. He's actually American. So I guess you'd know his state of mind better than I." The kid returned smugly. Sawyer just glared, a little shocked.

"Where do we find him?"

"Rome. In Italy. Can I go now?"

Nemo mulled over the information. The Nautilus would be ready in a few days to sail. Rome wasn't that far when commuting in a ship such as his.

"No."

"What? You said-"

"You will be released, Mr. Nesmond. Just not yet. We will take you with us to find your friend. You can identify him better than we. Until then, you and your…dog…will be given quarters, and you will be treated as a guest aboard The Nautilus."

"Bloody lovely." Gilbert grimaced.

*^^**^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^*^

That was rather fun to write. I tried to incorporate a little more humor into it this time.

Please leave your input! I love to read your comments!


	5. Gentlemen thieves

Chapter: Five: Gentlemen thieves

Author: Beck2

Shout-outs!

Niani: I'm glad you enjoyed it, I hope you enjoy this one as well.

Rayne: Wow, thank you! I'm always pleased when people say they like my characters.

Silent Bob 546: Nice evil laugh you have there. Good to know Tom has you on his side, eh? Thank you!

Graymoon74: Well, I hope you find something in this chapter that you like too. Thank you!

Clez: Thanks! I can imagine their faces too…they look pretty funny.

Rogue77: The movie is really cool. Yes, I figured I'd go with writing a guy character this time. I need to branch out more. Thanks!

Asteria: That was what I was aiming for. The eyes. Wow that was a bad pun, I'm sorry. But onto the rivalry, within the next few chapters I'm going to try and put in a funny scenario that popped into my head that should be pretty interesting. Thanks a bunch!

Roses-r-red: Thank you very much!

sugaricing: Thank you! I'm glad you complimented me on the writing, sometimes I wonder if my writing is any good than a nice compliment like yours comes along, and I know I must be doing something right. 

A/N:

Many apologies for the week long lull, I really wanted to get this up last Tuesday, but apparently I picked up an angry reviewer. Again, I am very sorry.

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Gilly whistled lightly as he checked his room. It was nice. And he'd probably enjoy it much more if he weren't here against his will. 

The big dog jumped up onto the top of the bed, the bag still in his jaws. Clunky had almost permanently injured one of the crew members when they tried to relieve him of the bag. Afterwards, the general consensus had been to let the dog keep the 'damn bag'.

"Well this is bloody lovely, isn't it? I never liked sailing much. And especially not if the Aurous or whatever it is wandering around out there.  Should have known this was going to happen. Don't know why I should've known, but in situations like these I always feel I should have." He ranted to himself.  "Bloody Americans, Lexington, that Sawyer fellow, every time I meet one I get into some sort of trouble, it's not as if I don't get into enough trouble without them."

Clunky whined softly from the bed. Gilly patted the dog on the head when he sat down on the bed. It was big and soft, just as luxurious as the rest of the room. 

"Well, if we're going to be kept anywhere, best it be here, eh?" He said with a grin to his furred companion. The dog swatted his tail down on the bed.

A light knock on the door caused them both to look up and Clunky let loose a low growl.

"Mr. Nesmond."

"Aye." 

The door opened slowly and a crewmember poked his head in. "Would you like something to eat, sir?"

Gilly realized he was, indeed, hungry, and nodded in assent. 

"Very well. I will bring it shortly."

"Thank you."

The crewmember left just as quick, probably because the growling from the big dog had jumped up in pitch. Clunky quieted and put his head back down.

A light pat on the head of Clunky and Gilly was up again, once again pacing the floor, deep in thought. "Well, I suppose there's nothing  for it, we're just going to have to keep on. At least until we can break away. Course, with that blood-sucker ain't a good chance of that."

The door was knocked on again, followed by the same crewmember carrying a tray.  Some Indian food was there, and a plate of unseasoned meat for Clunky. Gilly thanked him and he left.

"Interesting cuisine." He mused as he set the plate on the bed next to Clunky. Clunky considered it, not knowing if he should drop the bag and eat or keep a hold on the ill-gotten gains.

"I don't think that they'll steal your bag. Personally, I think they would have shot you if they really wanted it." The dog seemed to consider this for a moment, then dropped the bag and began wolfing down the food. Gilly picked up a fork and did the same.

*^*^^*^*^**^^*^**^^*^**^^*^**^^**^*^*

"The ship is ready for sail!"

"We await your orders Captain Nemo!"

Captain Nemo allowed himself a grim smile. It had only taken a day and a half to get the ship back to seaworthy sate. It could not dive, but as speed was of the essence, they would have to make do with what they had. 

"Set a course for Rome."

*^*^^*^**^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Gilly choked lightly on some food when the ship lurched. The sounds confirmed that the ship was moving.

"Fast repairs."

^^*^*^**^^**^*^*^^*^*

Several days just wandering his room was monotonous. It was also boring, stifling, and slightly maddening. Gilly was suffering from first class cabin fever.

A knock on his door almost scared him out of his wits. "Aye?" He asked guardedly. All of this time on this blasted ship and he hadn't learned any of the 'League's' names. Well, not really. 

"Ey kid, you want to come out? We're pining away for you out here!"

"Who the bloody hell.." Gilly walked over to the door and opened it. There was the gentleman that fell into the flour. "What do you want?"

"Just wanted to know if you want to get some fresh air. Or is staying in this cabin the best thing for you?" He said cheekily.

"Am I allowed to walk around on this boat?"

"Better not let Nemo 'ear you say that, he'll toss you right into the drink. And I really have no idea."

"If he tosses me into the drink he'll never figure out who mussed up his pretty little ship."

"True, very true. But he might do it to spite you anyway."

"Seems like a lot of that going around."

"That's true too." He grinned. Gilly shook his head. Thinking it over, he gave in. 

"Very well. Not as if things could get worse, eh? If I get thrown overboard then you're all out something, so I guess I'd be spiting you back." A light whistle brought Clunky trotting over and Gilly followed the pale stranger through the halls.

"So what is your name?"

"Rodney Skinner. Gentlemen Thief."

"Is that so?" Gilly's voice betrayed some interest.

"Yup." 

"And who are all the rest of you?"  Gilly couldn't help but feel curious, after all.

"Well, the lady of the ship is Mrs. Wilhelmina Harker, she's the resident blood sucking vampire. Very nice looking woman, if you haven't noticed."

"Yes, well, she has plenty of beauty to distract from her personality." Gilly commented snidely, catching a laugh from Skinner.

"Heh. The Indian fellow is Captain Nemo, who is the creator of this ship—"

"Prison."

"It's not so bad. Could be a lot worse. 'E could have tied you to the anchor." Skinner pointed out.

"Well, when you put it that way."

"Tom Sawyer, whom you have met upon many an occasion, is our American friend. Lessee…Lastly is Dr. Jekyll. He and Mina caught you."

"Thank you so for bringing that up." He said sarcastically as Skinner led them out onto the deck.  It was there he noticed something odd. "Where are your feet?"

"Right where you're looking." It sounded as if the pale man was enjoying some private joke. "Can't you see them?"

"No."

"Well, bein' invisible does that."

"Invisible." Gilly repeated.

"Invisible." He agreed.

"What is it with you people?" Gilly said exasperatedly. "Isn't there any normal people on this ship?"

*^^**^*^^*^**^*^*^^**^*^*^*^*^^*^**^*^

The Aurelius swept through the ocean like a silent bird of prey traversing the sky. Its intentions were not noble. The only intention was to become rich, to be feared throughout the seas.

But more often than not, the intentions whose roots lie in greed are the most dangerous of all.

The pipe smoking Captain of the beautiful ship smiled as he listened to his crew members read aloud reports from nearby towns. The governments were all a fluster with this new threat, and the only thing that could stop him was going half of its original speed and couldn't dive. It was of no consequence. It would take weeks for it to come even close to matching the might of the Aurelius, and the Nautilus would be dealt with far long before that. 

It was only a matter of time. 

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Yay! Another chapter finished. I hope you all like it! Please leave your input on the way out!


	6. Rome

Chapter: Six: Rome

Author: Beck2

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Rome. A city of complex beauty. It had survived its own downfall, being overrun by enemy hordes, and being governed by insane rulers. And it still stood strong. 

However, this beauty was lost on one of its inhabitants, a one Lexington Marks. An immigrant from America, he was received in this place less than warmly. And he had done nothing for that when he started working for some of the more shady groups. 

Lexington rushed through the streets, throwing the occasional cursory glance behind him. He had been careless.

And carelessness kills.

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"Salau!" The red target flew through the air towards the open sea.

"CLUNKY! STOP RIGHT THERE!"

So close. 

Sawyer immediately turned in a short of shocked look, as if he hadn't known the big dog was practically chafing to go after the little red targets. 

"Damn Americans, always have it out for dogs."

"Just that one." Sawyer shot back to the kid. 

Really, it would have been alright, he could have kept his temper with the big dog, had it not been for the fact that he had taken up the hobby of trying to bite the seat of his pants and trip him every time they met. He swore that dog had it in for him. 

The kid scowled back at him. Dressed in his usual attire, he stood next to the rail, keeping a close eye on the dog. The dog, with the bag of stolen goods in his jaws (did he ever just let it go?) glowered at him. Sawyer felt a small twinge of satisfaction about getting the dog to almost jump overboard. Of course, he'd probably have to go in and fish him out, but it would be worth it. 

Soon, the ship would dock at Rome. The trip that could have been made in two days had taken almost a week, in plain view of every ship along the way. Nemo was furious about it. 

"So. Rome." Sawyer never much liked silence. He was a man of action, or so he liked to believe, and silence and peace always made him bored and nervous.

"So." The boy mimicked, obviously still annoyed with him.

"What's it like?" Sawyer asked through gritted teeth.

"It's a city like any other bloody city. It's big, it has buildings and squares, made mostly out of rock. Nothing special." Gilly said shortly. 

"What is your problem?" Sawyer snapped.

"You."

"That's mature." He snorted.

"So's having a personal vendetta against a dog."

"'E has a point."

"Skinner?" Sawyer yelped. Gilly jumped and glared at where he thought the voice came from.

"Blast you, man! Do you have anything better to do than to sneak up and scare people?"

"….Not at the moment."

^*^**^^*^**^^**^*^^**^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Later that day, when the night was falling upon the massive city of Rome, The Nautilus docked and weighed anchor in the port. The entire league, with the exception of Mr. Jekyll, who had taken sick, stood out on the deck.

"'E's American, about as tall as the Captain, but without the turban, he has sandy brown hair and blue eyes."

"Can you be more precise?" Mina said exasperatedly.  "You've just described a good majority of the men in Italy."

"Well, he is American. Not many Romans are American. None of them to be sure, eh?" Gilly remarked in the same tone.  He really didn't like that woman. Oh yes, she was pretty, in a morbid, blood sucking way, but her personality was left wanting. 

She glared at him, and he immediately shrank. He quickly reminded himself that it was a bad idea to mock vampires. Clunky tilted his head, but didn't offer a growl or anything towards her.

Probably was smarter than his owner.

"Take the boy with you." Captain Nemo ordered. "If he goes with you, he will pick out the man we seek."

"It will take forever." Mina pointed out. Gilly snorted. As if that wasn't obvious from the start. It earned him another glare and he decided that silence would probably be vital to his survival.

"It will be easier if he had an idea about where he might be." Sawyer interjected.

"Of course I do. All you had to do was ask." There he was, saying things that would get him in trouble again.

"By all means, Gilbert. Show us the way." The vampire's eyes stayed on him making him very nervous and much less cocky.

"R-right."

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Another slow update? Sorry!

Clez: Hee, thank you very much. I'm trying to use all of the characters, but I'm finding it a bit difficult.

Rogue77: Actually, I'm swaying from my original formula with Gilly, so he is just a normal kid. Glad you like it!

Miani: Well, I'm glad you found at least one thing you liked.

A.L.Nowicki: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!

Scherzando: Thank you! I accept criticism when I get it. And you put up some interesting things for me to consider, I will try to do better.

Silent Bob 546: I'm glad I was able to make you laugh!

sugaricing: That's very true. Sawyer is normal…once you look past him being a spy and all. Well, he's normal compared to everyone else. Thank you!

Don't forget to leave reviews in the review box!


	7. Fire and the Black Book

Chapter: Seven: Fire and the Black Book

Author Beck2

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The city streets were packed, as usual. All of the clatter and noise gave Gilbert Nesmond time to reflect on his position.

What exactly am I doing here? If Lex doesn't want to be found he won't be. And I'm leading a whole band of freaks right up to his doorstep, I'm sure he'll be pleased. Chalk one more lost friend because you did something stupid, Gilly. Well, lost friends to lost life, pretty strong argument.

"Do you know where you're going?" Sawyer asked him. He rolled his eyes.

"If I didn't, do you think I'd be sticking around with all of you?"

And I certainly wouldn't stay to enjoy the company, he added silently. Especially since the only good company, Clunky, had gone running after some woman's chickens. He'd be back, but still, it was bad form, leaving him here.

Lexington lived in a rather charming building in the center of the business district in Rome. Very nice place. Full of people looking down their noses at the odd party. 

Or it would be, if their attention wasn't directed more to the building that was billowing black smoke out of its windows.  

Most people were just standing around, pointing. The League was worried, talking about what could have caused it. But he didn't hear them. His mind was on who lived in that building.

"Lex."

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^*^*^*^*^

Smoke was hanging thick throughout the room. The doors were barricaded from the outside, and if the fumes didn't kill him, the fire licking the walls would.

He had come back to pick up some things from his flat, and then skip town. He did not think that they would be here, waiting for him. He should have. Perhaps it was fear that had caused him to make so many mistakes. 

And now he would pay for those mistakes.

Loud banging on the door pierced through his smoke crazed mind, and he had the fleeting hope. He gave a strangled yell, and sounds came from the other side of the door, of someone trying to move whatever had been used to block the door.

Too slow. It was taking too long.

*^*^*^**^*^*^*^*^**^*^*^*

He managed to push aside the crate and got into the room, coughing loudly as he walked in. The smoke was suffocating. 

There on the floor, lay the prone form of his friend.

"Lex!" He crouched down next to him, covering his mouth with his sleeve. "Wake up, you stupid American! I can't bloody well drag you out, you have to get up." He shoved Lex hard, and was rewarded with a moan. 

"Gil…the study…get the black…book…"

"Hardly time to start thinking about your bloody date book, man! We're going to burn alive!"

"Get BOOK!"

"Alright!" He leapt up and ran into the study. The fire was extreme here, the heat rising off in waves. In the middle of burning papers lay the book he was looking for. He swept the paper off to the floor and stomped on them, rescuing the black book from the flames. He rushed back to his friend with the book in hand. 

"I got your stupid book, you going to go save yourself now?" He asked annoyed. The man gave no answer. "Lex?"

He looked into the man's face and felt a sick feeling tighten into his stomach.

"Bloody hell."

^*^**^^**^**^*^*^*^^*^*

"Where did 'e go?"

"I think he went into the building."

"Great. Where's Sawyer?"

Mina looked around. Sawyer was nowhere to be seen.

"'Ow much you want to bet he went with that kid?"

"We have to get in there."

"Err…yes…well."

"What?"

"I have slight problems about running right into fire. It tends not to be a good idea, you understand."

"Then stay out here." Mina rushed off toward the building, throwing an trying to stop her.

*^^*^**^^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^*^^*^*^*^*

Sawyer ducked through the smoke, and saw the open door at the end of the hall and the two figures in the room beyond.

"Kid!" His yell was followed by coughing as he tried to clear his lungs. He pushed forward and stopped at the door, the room was almost entirely in flames. It was obvious to see the fire started here. "Kid!" He yelled again. This time the boy looked up and staggered upright towards the door, coughing and walking unsteadily.  He managed to get to the doorway and Sawyer dragged him away from the flames. 

Mina showed up and scared both of them half out of their wits.

"Bloody vampire." The boy coughed before he collapsed. Sawyer picked him up. 

"Can you get us out of here?"

"Stay with me." She grabbed his arm and led them through the smoke filled hallways.  The smoke blinded him, but he kept going with her direction. He trusted her. She wouldn't steer him wrong. Not now. 

And he was right.

*^*^*^*^**^^**^*^*^*^*^*^**^*^*^*^

Dr. Jekyll sweated in his bed. Awful visions had been dancing through his head. The murderous intention of Edward. Henry winced as the images spiraled through his head. He had considered many times taking something to allow him to sleep, which Edward  would snicker and comment about the elixir. So far, Henry had been able to ignore him. 

But soon, the urge would get to be too strong, and he would have to appease the monster within himself. He only hoped that some good would come of it.

Some good from where there was no good at all.

^********^^*^*^*^*^**^^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^^*

I know, I know, another late update, I am VERY sorry. I got caught up in schoolwork and finishing a few other fics and time just flew by without me realizing it. I really am sorry, I will try to do better, I promise.

Clez: Charlie was what I had in mind when I created him, actually, and the mastiff is fairly accurate. I never put much thought into the breed, he was just supposed to be a big devious mutt. I hope you're feeling better!

A.L. Nowicki: My goodness, you are absolutely right. *chagrin* I'm very sorry, that must have been a slip in my typing. Being a huge Jekyll fan myself, I cannot believe I missed that.

Niani: Glad to hear you like it, I'm so sorry about not updating sooner, but I really am going to try and do much better.

Graymoon74: Probably. But I think that may be part of his charm. And he probably will get smacked for his comments sooner or later.

Silent Bob 546: Heh, I'm glad I'm getting some emotion out of the reviews, that's always good.

Rayne: Thank you very much! I'm glad you like them. I'll try to keep the humor level up.

Rogue77: Eh, that's okay, you review just about everything else I write, and I'm impressed and exceedingly flattered that you keep such a close eye on my writings. Thank you so much!

Anyway, feel free to leave your comments, I always enjoy them.


	8. He's Hiding Something

Chapter: 8: He's Hiding Something

Chapter author: Beck2

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Sawyer shook his head irritatedly as Mina checked him over. He was fine, he didn't need to be babied, he needed to do something.

"Agent Sawyer, if you do not stop moving around you will be here even longer." Mina sniffed.

They were on the infirmary on the Nautilus. It was impeccably white, and enough to make any man nervous. Gilly was being checked in the next room by Dr. Jekyll, who seemed to have gotten over his bout of sickness, though to Sawyer's eyes he looked strained. He could only guess that it had something to do with Hyde.

The kid seemed a bit subdued now, as if he were seriously thinking about something. Probably ruing the fact that he had been pulled out of the fire by the person he liked the least.

Maybe now that kid wouldn't be such a pain in the—

"Agent Sawyer." One of Nemo's men walked in. "Captain Nemo would like to speak with all of you."

"We'll be there in a minute." Mina said before Sawyer could say anything. Damn. He almost got away.

The man bowed and left as silently as he came. It had always amazed Sawyer how the crew managed to do that.

Mina finished her checkup and Sawyer slid hastily off the bed he'd been sitting on and stretched his legs. He really hated hospitals. Mina went to the next room to collect the kid and the Doctor, and he waited at the door. Not long after she returned, with Gilly and Jekyll in tow. 

Sawyer wondered for a moment if the kid would thank him, but the boy just walked right past him, following Jekyll.

Damn kid.

*^^*^*^*^**^^*^*^**^*^^*^**^^^*^*^*^*^*^*

A few minutes of walking the halls of the massive ship found Gilly at the door to their meeting room. He uncomfortably twitched his shoulder. The weight of the book he had jammed down his shirt practically weighed a ton to him, as did the question of whether he should hand this book over to the 'League' as they called themselves or just keep hold of it. After all, it obviously was one of the reasons Lex got killed, which he did unless he just up and decided to commit suicide, in which case Gilly knew that he knew of easier and less painful ways to do it. Even so, why have him grab the book? 

Unless this was his way of laughing at him. Bloody Americans.

The other members of the 'League' were listening to Sawyer's side of things, nodding, asking questions, trying to understand what happened.

"Boy." Gilly jerked his head up from his reverie, looking at the dark eyed captain. 

"Aye?" He said guardedly.

"The man in the building Sawyer just talked about, was that the man you were leading us too?"

"Yes."

"I see. Did he say anything to you? Something we could use to track down the imposter?"

"No." Well, it was the truth. He hadn't said anything about tracking anyone down.

"Are you certain?" The dark eyes seemed to bore right into his skull, as if that would give him the answer that the Captain seeked.

"Yes." Gilly replied as evenly as possible, which was hard, the man's gaze was intimidating to the point where if he'd looked anymore stern, Gilly might have cracked. But luckily, that didn't happen.

Captain Nemo broke off of his gaze. Gilly breathed a silent sigh of relief. 

"Then we must return to the scene of the murder and try to find something that will be of use of us."

"I'll go." The American said swiftly. Obviously he wasn't the type to stay put. Gilly vaguely remembered being carried out by that man, but he wasn't going to thank him. At least, he wasn't going to stoop so low as to say it to him aloud. Maybe he'd pay him back one day. 

Maybe.

He didn't jump forward to go help. He didn't have any great desire to help these people more than he had too. And Clunky would return to the ship, there was no need to look for him. When all was said and done, The vampire and the American went off to Lex's apartment. There was something between those two, Gilly was sure of it. 

Even though they seemed to be blind to it themselves. Or perhaps they were less blind to it then met the eye.

But that was none of his business. And he didn't care to make it his business.

"Boy." The Captain was speaking to him again.

He looked up at him.

"You may stay in your quarters. We cannot allow you to leave just yet."

Gilly nodded, stood up, and walked out. On his way out, he noticed Rodney was watching him very closely, but didn't think anything of it.

*^^*^*^**^^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^^**^*

Rodney Skinner tapped the table lightly with his fingertips, watching the boy. The only members still sitting in the room with him were Nemo and Jekyll, both of which were consumed with their own thoughts. No doubt Jekyll was thinking about his other half, and Nemo was pondering about which step to follow next.

"'E's 'iding something." Rodney said suddenly, surprising himself.

Jekyll looked up, a bit confused. "How can you tell?"

"I'm a thief, Jekyll, I can tell these things. And 'e's actin' weird. Sumtin's botherin' him, and it has somethin' to do with somethin' in 'is coat. Prolly some sort of book, by the way he moves and carries 'imself." 

"Do you think it has anything to do with the fake Nautilus?"

"I don't speculate, I just know what I see, Nemo."

"We must have it. It could have valuable information to this mission."

"I agree." Jekyll nodded. "If he got it from this man, Lexington Marks, than it may have invaluable content."

"Oy, not so fast. If you spook 'im, 'e may do somethin' we'll all regret. Let me handle it."

"Are you sure you can deal with this?" Nemo questioned. Rodney thought about returning a scathing comment, but reminded himself that a lot of the comments he received were brought down upon himself.

"I can take care of it. Leave it to me." He said confidently.

*^^**^*^*^*^*^*^**^^**^

Well….I think this update was sooner than last time, I'm not quite sure. But I think I did a good job on this chapter, myself…

Rayne: To tell the absolute truth, that's who I had in mind when I started creating Gilly. I'm glad you like this story!

Just Me: I'm glad you like it.

Clez: Maybe. But Tom and Gilly are both hardheaded. Who knows? Wow, Clunky hasn't come back yet, hopefully he'll return next chapter.

Anee: Well…I try! I really do! But I've always got something to do! But I should have lots more time now.

A. L. Nowicki: Yes, it is heart wrenching, poor Jekyll. I love that character, though I've noticed part of his appeal is the fact that he does go through these problems. 

Niani: Thank you, I should have more time to update now, and I'm glad you liked the last chapter!

Silent Bob 546:Oops, I hope I didn't make it too confusing and that some questions you have were answered by this chapter. But I'm glad you thought it was interesting!

GrayMoon74: Yes, Lex is dead. And Mina did save the day! I hope you like this chapter too. 

Rogue77: I'm glad you liked the chapter. And with a friend like Clunky who needs Lex, eh? Just kidding.

Please leave your comments on the way out!


	9. Secrets and Thieves

Chapter: Nine: Secrets and Thieves

Chapter Author: Beck2

*^^*^**^^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

He opened the black book slowly, curiosity getting the best of him. He had seriously considered just leaving the book behind and jumping ship, getting away from all of this and back to his old life. But if the book had no real value, then he'd probably be in hot water anyway.

Inside were notes, written in scrawl that he had to squint to understand. There were so many loops it looked like half of one line was part of the line above it. Not only that, but side notes and scratched out corrections made the reading even more difficult.

"Damn Americans, they all write the same, no wonder no one can understand them." He gumbled.

Most of the lines on the first page were just dates scribbled into the space. He managed to pick out some words, like Rome, Italy, and London. But that told him nothing, really, so he moved on. He flipped through the pages until he came across a page written in deep scrawl, as if Lex had been upset or nervous when he wrote it.

_'…Edgy…The ship is almost built…Commander Orick is ordering…more guns…less fortifications…fool, his desire for power….death…one day.' _

The words he could make out were few and far between, but they'll told him quite a bit. He flipped forward in the book. Odd diagrams, scratchy sketches, passages like the one he tried to decipher…he didn't even know that Lex kept a diary. 

No, most likely it was for blackmail. They tried to kill him, he'd tell them about the book. Then they wouldn't be able to unless they got the book, in which case Lex would slip away from them before it got that far. It had nothing to do with integrity.

A light knocking on his door caused him to snap the book shut quickly. There was no way he could find a place to hide the book in such a short time. He shoved it quickly and unceremoniously in his jacket.

"Ey, Kid!"

Skinner. Another thief.

And therefore more dangerous than the rest. He hadn't thought about it when he left the meeting room, but he realized it now-to any trained thief it would have been painfully obvious he had something in his jacket.

"What is it?" He guarded his words carefully.

"Just checkin' up on you, no need to get defensive. Open the door, mate!"

He opened the door slightly and looked at the white face of the invisible man neutrally. "I'm fine. What is it?"

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^

'Eh, that game's up Skinner, E's on to you.' Skinner thought when he studied the boy's face. 

"We need to talk."

"About what?" The boy's voice got a little more defensive.

"I know that you know why I'm here, Gil. Or else you have some other thought as to why I'm here that doesn't quite match up with my idea as to what you should know about why I'm here, in which case—"

"Get to the Bloody friggen' point."

Ouch. Even the kid called him out. Did he never get any respect around here?

"Nemo asked me to get a hold of whatever you brought back from the apartment."

"And why would he want that?"

"Don't play games Gil, only so much can ol' Nemo take, you know. If it has anything to do with that ship wandering around-"

"The Aurelius."

"I don't even care what the bloody ship is called, Nemo wants anything that can give him information on it. How do you what it's called, anyway?"

"My friend worked on it, remember?"

"Why didn't you tell us the name? I'm confused." That seemed to be happening a lot to him lately.

"What would it have helped? Sure, there's a ship out there that you can't find, can't fight, and can't outrun in our current state, but knowing the name of the blasted tanker is going to give us an edge? I fail to see the reasoning."

"If you knew that, you could know more?"

"I thought you wanted the book, not to pick my mind."

"Ah, so there is a book!" He said triumphantly. The boy rolled his eyes. 

"Yes, there is a book. I figure since we're both thieves we shouldn't be trying to hide the obvious from each other." He conceded that point to Skinner. Skinner almost couldn't keep the smirk off his face.

"So."

"What?"

"You going to give me the book?"

"No."

"Why not?" Skinner said desperately. He really didn't want to call Jekyll out here to have Hyde get him the book by force.

"Because I am still debating over whether I should give you the damn thing. I know Lex wouldn't want that."

"But if you give us the book, we probably won't need you and you could go home." Skinner was trying to appeal to the boy's sense of self preservation.

"Why do you think I'm having such a tough time deciding?" Gilly demanded and shut the door. There was a loud click as he locked the door.

Skinner stared at the door. It did not go the way he wanted. Perhaps he could sneak back later and steal the book. But in any case, he couldn't get it right now. 

And why in bloody hell did Nemo give him a room with a door that could lock? Poor planning, perhaps, but he supposed it could always get to the point where Nemo would just have some of his men kick the door down if need be.

Might still have to do that.

^*^**^^*^*^*^**^*^*^*^^*^*

Very bedraggled and completely soaked, a large canine came loping through the halls with an empty bag hanging from his jaws. The bag had once been used to carry feed, but it had been liberated by the big dog for the sole purpose of bringing back to the young boy he had been traveling with. Bags were useful. 

The big dog got several odd looks from crewmembers, who, thankfully, did not try to pet him. He didn't like being petted. 

"'Eh? What happened to you? Take a swim before you came back, did you?" The strange man he constantly smelled but sometimes did not see peered at him. Clunky ignored him and kept going down the hall. Boy was waiting.

He reached the door but one sniff told him that visitors the boy did not want. So, he lay down at the door, till visitors were accepted.

And he waited.

*^*^^*^**^*^^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Well, he finally came back. Hope you all liked this chapter!

Asteria: Wait no longer! I hope you liked it!

A. L. Nowicki: Glad to be of service. Thanks!

Graymoon74: Yep, he is good at that sort of thing. And it might still happen yet. And yes, Gilly is sort of a jerk. But I suppose he has a little bit of a reason to be, in a way.

Clez: I saw it too! I hope they do a sequel, then we may actually see that connection become painstakingly visible! And everyone else can see it too!

Melanie: Err…as far as that goes, I'm just playing it by ear. That meaning romance. I'm glad you liked it!

Niani: Yep, this is a Skinner chapter! I hope you liked it!

Silent Bob 546: Well, just thinking of Tom cursing may traumatize anyone. His twelve year old image would be ruined. :) Glad you like it!

Anee: Well, I updated again, I hope you receive it just as well.

Please leave your comments on the way out!


	10. The Aftermath of a Burnt Life

Chapter: Ten: The Aftermath of a Burnt Life

Author: Beck2

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"Nothing." Tom shrugged exasperatedly as he looked around at the burnt walls. Everything had been destroyed. Fire left no survivors.

Literally and metaphorically.

Mina was looking at a bookcase that had been blackened by soot, trying to pull a book out that wouldn't explode into ashes on contact.

That had happened the first time. Now he would have to take a shower. 

It would never cease to amaze him that the vampire that pulled the book out of the bookcase didn't get on ounce of soot on her, but just because he was walking by he got covered in it.

She may have done it on purpose. But until he had proof, he was going to act like that never crossed his mind.

"Keep looking. The fire may have burnt everything, but something may still be salvaged." She kept her eyes on the bookcase. She was cleaning away soot with a small brush. It looked like she was brushing away a good bit of the book too. But she was determined to find something.

Had to admire that about her.

"So what do you think about all this?" He asked suddenly. She barely glanced up.

"What?"

"This whole mission and this ship."

"I think that it could become a serious problem. And Captain Nemo will not let it rest until it is dealt with."

"All I know is that it's a lousy way to spend a few weeks." Sawyer returned jokingly. She rolled her eyes and started brushing away soot again. There was silence between the two for a moment. Then a sudden groan in the beams caused Mina to jump, accidentally putting her brush through a book and making it explode into a flurry of ash.

Sawyer tried to keep his lips from curling into a smirk. The building was just settling back into a position, it always happened after there were fires, even though there was little chance that the building itself would collapse. Still, smiling might get him in deep trouble, which wasn't something he particularly wanted. Especially not with someone that could probably fling him out the window as easily as swatting an insect.

Mina had soot settling on her white shirt, and she was glaring ferociously at the timber that creaked, and if that plank had been alive, it would have un nailed itself and ran down the stairs and out of this building.

"That probably wasn't what we were looking for anyway." He tried to say consolingly. The comment got him a crimson eyed glare. 

"And how do you suppose that, Mr. Sawyer?" Her tone, polite as it was, was laced with heavy sarcasm.

"Well…" He had to think quickly. If he blew it now, she probably wouldn't talk to him for the remainder of the mission, which to him would be a worse tragedy than anything the fake Nautilus could dish out. "I figure if I had something really important, something people would kill for, I wouldn't be hiding it in plain sight on a bookcase. That's what I figure."

She looked a bit taken aback. "Yes. Yes, I suppose that does make sense." She looked back at the bookcase. "Though, It didn't hurt to try and look. For all we know he was below average intelligence."

"True." Sawyer swiftly agreed. Though in truth, he didn't think that could be a case. Still, agreeing was better than being given the silent treatment.

"We should look for hidden panels."

"Hunh?" Sawyer said intelligently.

"Panels. Perhaps he hid something behind a panel of wood, or a shelf in a dresser."

"Oh." Sawyer gladly went to work. He pulled out his pistol and used the handle to tap the walls. As long as he was doing something, everything was fine. He never much liked being the one that wasn't doing anything. He was a man of action.

He circled around the entire room but came up with absolutely nothing. The walls were not hollow, nor were they thick, he realized when he had accidentally put a hole into the wall when he tapped too hard. Mina had just about as much luck, when she checked into the dressers. She was checking the last drawer when she clicked in anticipation. He walked over to look as she pulled a piece of wood out of the drawer. Under that wood panel…

Nothing. Though there was an interesting form in the dust.  It looked like a book had been placed there.

It was amazing dust survived where books were exploding into clouds of ash. Not that he thought about it, the fact that this desk hadn't been burned to the floor was probably a miracle. Fire was a tough thing to predict.

"Another dead end." He sighed. "Think whoever set the fire snagged the book too?"

"Most likely." She agreed. "Though he may have sent it away. In any case, it is not here."

"Guess there's not much more we can do here."

"Yes. We should go back to Nemo and tell him of our findings, or lack thereof." She walked towards the door with her unnatural grace. Sawyer twirled his pistol once and holstered it, took one glance around the room, then followed.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^^*^**^^**^^*^*^*^**^*^*^*^

A chapter completely of Mina and Sawyer? That unasked request has been answered.

Apologies for late update, I had formatting problems with another story, and I have to finish one thing before I start another (in the way of chapters, not stories). 

Asteria: 'Go write the Danny story'? I'm glad you like it so much! Reviews like that always amuse me for some reason. I hope to see more of your story soon as well.

Clez: Like you asked, I didn't forget! I hope you liked it!

Rayne: Well, he may just be a really smart dog. I don't know as of yet. No worries about not reviewing, I'm just glad you like it.

Steffi-333: Wow! I'm so glad when I get new reviewers! I think it's a bit of a pity that I can't see how many people have me on their favorite stories lists, but hearing that people do always makes me happy. Thank you!

Niani: I agree, most everything with Skinner is good. Not one bit of Skinner in this though, but I'll bring him back next chapter.

Rogue77: I love that song. Oldies rock. I'm glad you like it!

Please leave your comments on the way out!


	11. Breaking The Code of Honor

Chapter: Chapter 11: Breaking the Code of Honor

Chapter Author: Beck2

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"Clunky! Where have you been, you rascal?"

Gilly patted the big dog. In truth, he was so happy to see that dog he could probably burst into tears, but there was no need for that. He didn't want people to see him cry, especially not on this blasted stupid ship. He stepped over the large dog in the doorway and padded down the hall a ways, fingering the book in his jacket pocket. Clunky got up and followed at a short distance. 

He supposed it would be time to find Skinner. He felt more comfortable handing over his shame and honor to someone who knew how it felt, and wouldn't look down on him for it. 

As luck would have it, Skinner was haunting the corridor adjacent to the corridor in which his room was situated. Gilly could have laughed. No doubt the thief was waiting for this thief to make up his mind. It had to have been one of the first time's he ever saw a thief wait on something. Most of the one's he knew were too impatient, himself included. 

"'Ey." 

Skinner looked up, surprised, then a grin broke across his face.

"Eh, I was takin' a break otherwise I'd met you at the door."

"No you wasn', I see it in your face, lookin' like some lost tourist you are."

"Don' make fun, I know this place like the back of my hand!"

"Oh really?"

"Really! I'll prove it, the kitchens are three decks below this one."

"Proof that thieves only think with their stomachs."

"Touché."  Skinner joked back. 

Then all laughing and joking was discarded in a silence that followed. Gilly found an interesting spot in the floor to gaze at while he mused his next words.

"An' wot's your decision then?" Skinner broke the silence.

"Are you willin' to take a few risks?"

"Within reason."

"Right. You get me off this bloody ship with me dog, I will give you this damned book."

"Not pleased with our company?"

"No. You're all right, but in the circumstances, I'd rather not see you, if you don't mind me saying."

Skinner almost looked hurt, but then grinned. "Yeah, I suppose if I went through all of this I'd be none too pleased as well, I can' blame you for wantin' to leave."

"Then don', and I'll give you the book when I am safely in the slums."

"Safely in the slums? Is that not a contradiction in terms?"

"Better than here."

"Roight. Let's go then. Nemo will be wantin' his information soon."

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^*^*

It was dilapidated. It was the worst place imaginable, full of cracks in the ground, trash in the streets, and bums on every corner. 

Reminded him a bit of a time before he joined the League.

They had snuck off the ship with ease. For thieves and Gentlemen of Fortune, sneaking in and out of tight places was a snap. Now they were somewhere in the rough patches of Rome. 

He could have just called for Nemo's men, they could have held down the dog and taken away the book, but he felt some sort of obligation to the kid. Maybe it was the fact that both of them had lived in the same life, with the same problems, heaven knows he had his own problems with debt collectors and people trying to beat him up when he was still visible. He seemed to have that problem still.

Or maybe it was that he pitied the kid. Obviously, though he cussed Lexington's existence often as a 'Bloody American', he was close to the man. It may have been the only human friend he had. And now he was handing over the secrets of that man to people he barely knew to save his own skin. Even thieves had a special code of honor, and not ratting on dead friends was a big one. Even though that 'code of honor' was highly romanticized. Rarely did thieves adhere to it. But it was still considered shameful to break the code.

Of course, he did like the kid. Reminded him a bit of himself. Another reason, he supposed.

"This'll be good." The boy said suddenly, stopping. Skinner almost ran into him. He managed to stop in time however, and waited expectantly.

Gilly stared around at the scenery for a moment. Then he put his hand in his jacket and pulled out the book. 

"This is Lex's book. He kept these in case people tried to mess 'im over. 'E probably gave it to me so I can 'elp 'im spite whoever it was killed him. I suppose the best way to do that is to give it to you people. I hope you do better with it than 'E did." He handed Skinner the book.

"Thanks. 'Ey, no regrets. You're doin' the right thing."

"You can say it all you want. But you know Skinner, it don' make it true. Until we meet agin', I suppose." He gave a wave as he headed out across the street. 

There was a whining noise. Skinner looked down at Clunky, who wagged his tail. Skinner gave him a quick pat on the head, and then the dog loped off after his young friend. 

"I wonder how I'm going to explain this to Nemo? Ah well, with this, he'll be happy." Skinner opened the book. All across the pages were scraggly writing, presumably in the hand of the deceased.  "If he can read the bloody writing."

^^**^*^^*^*^**^*^^*^*^**^*^^**^

"Our trip was unsuccessful." Mina stated primly. "The fire left nothing, though there were some signs that something had been removed from a secret panel in a drawer."

"Such as what, Ms. Harker?" Nemo pressed.

"It was an object that bore resemblance to a book, though whether or not it was one I cannot say."

Sawyer leaned casually against the wall in the meeting room. Dr. Jekyll was in his room, presumably in some funk. Such moods seemed to overtake him at odd times. But then he was better.

"Skinner said the boy returned with something from the fire, and said he would get it."

"An' got it!" 

Sawyer and Mina both jumped when Skinner burst into the meeting room with a book in his hand raised as if in greeting.

"I believe you want this, Nemo."

"The boy gave it to you willingly?" Nemo took the book carefully from the thief's hand. 

"With little problems." Skinner said haltingly.

"What sort of little problems?" Mina questioned.

"Well…we got the book, but we lost the kid."

"You let him leave?!" Nemo thundered. Skinner jumped.

"Hold on. You need the book, and you don' need him. He said he felt better there than here, so I let him go. We don' need him anymore."

"That may be so, but to let a witness run off, it was a foolish thing to do!"

"What's done is done, we can' change that now, can we?"

Nemo just glared at him. Sawyer could feel the anger energy in the air. It had to be one of those rare times that Skinner didn't shut-up and take the words coming to him. 

But he could see the point. With the book, there was no need of the kid, if the book panned out. 

Which he hoped. Between the kid, dog, and Skinner and Nemo's confrontations, he would be glad when this mission was over.

*^^*^*^*^*^*^**^*^^**^^*^*^*^*^*

A/N

My most sincere apologies for the very long wait. I've been busy all last week, and then over the weekend I caught a bit of a bug that made me really tired. So, my updates were really few and far between. I hope you guys like this chapter, and sorry about the wait!

Yvonne Clark: Hee, thanks a bunch! And I hope we do get a sequel, I'd watch it in a heartbeat.

Silent Bob 546: Thanks a bunch!

Clez: Thanks a bunch! Thanks for the compliments (I'm really glad you like the characterizations.)

Steffi-333: I like all the characters, I may be one of the only people that rank Nemo amongst the favorites. Yeah, Sawyer and Mina, they're a cute couple. Thanks a lot!

Rogue77: Thanks a bunch!

Niani: Heh, that's okay. I hope I satisfied your Skinner cravings a bit!

Rayne: Thanks a lot! I was hoping people would like it!

Chaotic Dreamer: Thank you, but I don't think I can put Allan in this story though, sorry. Maybe the next LXG I write will bring him back. 

Silversnow: There are all sort of readers, and I welcome them all! I'm glad you liked my style of writing, and I'm glad I helped inspire you! And when you do get your story up, tell me. I like to make a habit of reading reviewer's fanfiction.

Please leave your comments, critiques, and/or compliments on the way out!


	12. The Good and Bad News

Chapter: 12: The Good and Bad News

Author: Beck2

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"Does anyone else see the irony of this?" Skinner commented smugly from the back of the room. Tom glared at him from over the black book.

Jekyll watched with feigned interest. Skinner had been making jokes about everything from similarities between Tom and the boy and the fact that only the American could read the author's writing, when the author itself was American. He could have smiled at the situation, except that he deeply disapproved of the constant hazing put on Sawyer. He was a good man, a good agent, even if he was a bit on the hardheaded side. 

Edward shuffled and grumbled in the back of his head, cursing about how he wanted to do something. He didn't bother to ask what Edward wanted to do. After the time they had spent living in the same body, he already knew.

Mindless destruction and murder.

A dark shadow passed over his face momentarily, but he quickly wiped it away, replacing it with his normal visage. Shy, gentlemanly Jekyll.

_Don't make me throw up, Henry. _

"This has to be the luckiest break we have ever gotten." Sawyer's voice stopped him from swearing mentally at his alter ego. 

"What does it say?" Captain Nemo demanded imperiously, excited that the chase may soon reach its climax.

"Well, there's good new and bad news."

"Get on with it! I do not care which news comes first!"

"Apparently the Captain of the canoe that tried to take out this one is named Orick…Commander Orick. The good news is that apparently he was real excited with his new toy and wanted to cause some real trouble, so he went off without putting a lot of armor in the hull. So basically one good blow to the bottom will sink it."

"I can hardly believe what could be the bad news after this." Mina exclaimed. He twitched a bit as he watched her. He too, was shocked and heartened by the news Sawyer had just read off. But bad news always had the potential to turn things around to the point that winning appeared to be totally out of grasp.

"The bad news is that Orick loaded a whole bunch of weapons onto his ship. Rockets and stuff."

"We have rockets on our ship, wot's so special about his?" Skinner asked over his glass of brandy. His buttoned up black coat and trilby were placed strategically so that no one would see the brandy going down. 

"Says here that some of his are scatter rockets. I don't know exactly what they are."

"Scatter Rockets?" Nemo mused. "What are they?"

"Uh…Rockets that scatter?"

"That would be my vote, Nemo." Skinner commented.

He just shook his head. Sometimes Skinner and Sawyer really could miss the entire situation. Nemo just glared at them briefly before turning his attention back to the matter at hand.

"What else does the book say?"  

"I got what looks like a schedule, but I wouldn't rely on it too much." 

"That would be the first thing they change." He said a little timidly, his first words uttered since they met in the meeting room. 

"That is true. But unfortunately, we have nothing else to rely on. My lady has been restored to full power, we will tour the places mentioned."

"And wot if they are below the water? We didn't see them the last time we met up with them. They could just be hiding from us."  Skinner commented.

"Then we will use the depth charges." Nemo said decisively, and, motioning Sawyer to follow, he stalked out of the meeting room, presumably to round up the navigators and plot a new course.

"Wot's a depth charge?" Skinner wondered aloud.

^*^*^*^*^**^^*^*^*^**^*^*^^*^**^*^*^

"It'll be a long way back to London." Gilly commented down to Clunky. Clunky whined at him.

"Wot's your problem now?" He patted the mutt on the head. The dog looked sadly at him. "Don't tell me those blasted maniacs were growing on you."

The dog just hung his head.

"Don't worry about it, we'll be alright. The team is better with two alone anyway, eh?" 

The dog whapped his tail on the ground. Satisfied, he straightened his hat upon his head, wiped some imaginary dust from his sleeve, and started walking down the street. Clunky followed easily. 

It would be a long way to London. It was best they started now.

*^^**^*^*^*^*^*^^**^^**^^**^*^

It was luck that the nearest stop in the schedule was Naples, a little less than three hundred kilometers down the coast. Naples itself was only a stone's throw from Pompeii, which made it a brilliant strategic point. 

The destruction of two bird's with one stone. And with the capabilities of His Lady, The Nautilus, it was a simple enough task. 

Apparently, Commander Orick had some sort of vendetta against Italy. But that was neither here nor there, as the saying goes. The main idea was that Orick had attacked his Lady. Sullied her good name.

And he, Captain Nemo, would not stand for it.

*^*^*^^^*^^*^*^*^*^**^^*^*^^**^*^^*^*^*^*

A/N

Alright people, it's my outright shame to have to admit that my updates are about to get a lot more sporadic. Next week at school Wizard of Oz is getting ready for it's debut, and as a pit member I have my entire week booked for then and about half of this week. So, I will do my best to keep updates as normal as possible, and do my best to write with a vengeance when Spring Break hits.

Silent Bob 546: It wouldn't be closure if Gilly dropped off the face of the earth, so don't worry! He'll keep showing back up. Thank you very much!

Chaotic Dreamer: Yes, you are correct (sort of-these are two very different world basings, really) Danny is his descendent. I put it in there as a little joke when I started. You're about the third person to comment to me about that.

Asteria: Illegible, actually. And no, that's not the end of Gilly. He'll be back.  And thank you very much! 

Rayne: Thank you very much!

Niani: I have satisfied your craving…for now…That laugh scares me. I'll have to keep ahead of it by making more Skinner chapters. Thank you!

Rogue77: Thanks a bunch! And yes, I know all about the updating thing. *hides eyes* I have no fallen victim to the horrible truth-I cannot write everything on time. Ah well. As long as the writing's good, I'm happy. 

Please leave your reviews on the way out!


	13. Depth Charge

Chapter: Thirteen: Depth Charge

Chapter Author: Beck2

A/N

I'm alive! ALIVE! 

Ahem.

It took me quite awhile to update this story, and for that I do apologize. But I did write this nice, slightly longer than usual chapter for all of you to read. I hope you like it, and for anyone that cares, Wizard of Oz went well! Of course, I now may never get the dialog out of my head, but I'll deal with it.

**^*^*^^**^^*^**^*^*^

"I don't see them."

"Well, that's pretty damn obvious. They're a little hard to miss."

"What's with you?"

Skinner just shook his head. The whole ordeal with letting Gilly go had resurfaced some old memories about his past that he would have rather remained sunk. Though, sinking memories was probably not a good thing to think of. They were, after all, on the bow of a ship.

His companion, Sawyer, looked at him curiously. "C'mon, tell me what's wrong."

"Just a little bloody impatient. How long is it going to be before something happens? How long will it be before I get another drink?!"

"Wow. You sounded just like me, except for the whole drink part, I usually don't do that."

"Philistine."

"Hunh?"

"Nothing."

"Never thought of you to be the one to use the big words around here."

"One of us has to be the brains of the conversation or it would go absolutely nowhere." He joked, trying to lighten the mood. He never liked heavy moods, they were far too depressing. 

"Hah hah, very funny." Sawyer rolled his eyes.

Really, the whole part about old memories were already beginning to fade. It had troubled him a few moments ago, but as he turned his thought to the fact that the ship he was on could suddenly enter mortal combat at any time, those memories didn't seem so relevant.

It would probably bother him again later. He'd have to have the brandy ready. 

"Do you think they're submerged?" Sawyer asked suddenly. "I mean, we're right outside Naples, they should be here."

"I tend to leave the Nautical nonsense to Nemo. He's the only one of us who knows what the hell we're doing anyway."

"Yeah. Kinda depressing, putting your fate into one man."

" Then again, if it was a woman, specifically one in particular…"

"You'd better stop that thought right now Skinner." Sawyer growled.

"Now now, I just meant that I would trust Mina with my life."

"Yeah, I bet."

He had to admit, it gave him joy to constantly nettle the young agent. It was just fun for him to see the American's feathers get ruffled for nothing. Or rather, his version of nothing.

"Come now Sawyer, you can't tell me you never thought…"

"Alright, Skinner, do you want to see if the submarine is submerged? Because if you keep it up I'm gonna make it possible for you, if you catch my meaning."

"My lips are sealed."

"That's a surprise." Sawyer shot back.

"Tch. Rudeness and or flattery shall get you nowhere. Now, if you excuse me, I have a date with a shot of scotch."

"Later." Sawyer said darkly.

Skinner just shook his head and laughed silently as he went back into the ship.

*^*^**^*^*^**^^*^**^

A long time ago, he had been a young thief, and he was traveling in Venice, picking some of the best pockets for an old festival. He'd make a killing. 

But thieves' lives are a highly romanticized thing. Nothing like his life. For every good pick, he was starving twice as much.  And there were collectors, much like debt or tax collectors, but these were of a shady kind. If one lived on the street, they were required to pay in order to keep from having a living hell for a life. 

He poured himself a shot of scotch and drank it down just as fast. 

That kind of life was barely a life. When he was in Venice, he had come across some of those collectors. They took everything he had. He went back to square one, just like a dozen times before. It ceased to amaze him after awhile, only to anger him as time after time he was left penniless, and starving. 

But then he got drafted into The League and everything became like a dream. A perfect life. Sure, that perfect life had a few flaws, but it had many definite perks. Seeing the world, being a hero (whether or not considered one),  friends. Yes, the friends were a big part of that new life. He'd barely had any friends before this. Not real ones, anyway.

And that boy's life was so much like that old life, it was scary. But they both had their choices, he supposed. Still, it was sad to see history repeat itself. 

But that was life.

And he needed another drink.

^*^*^*^**^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

"Ready the depth charges. If the Aurelius will not come up then we will make it."

"How do you know it's down there?" Dr. Jekyll asked cautiously.

Nemo smiled grimly. "I know. The Aurelius is waiting for us to make the first move. And I shall no disappoint."

It was just a feeling. He knew that fake ship was down there. They'd pay for sullying his Lady's good name.

"What exactly do these, 'depth charges' do?" 

He turned to the vampire. She and Jekyll had been watching with great interest, as is befitting of two scientists. 

"They are of a new design. Specially created to test the depth of water, they are also remarkably effective in unsubmerging the submerged."

"How do they do this?" She asked, fully interested.

"You shall see. Watch that screen." He took the time to wave at a screen, a vibration measuring device, much like his sonars, only this required vibrations to work. 

"Captain, the first charges have been launched."

"Very good." He turned back to the screen that both Jekyll and Mina were watching. The metal indicators stayed totally still, for what seemed like an eternity. Then one after another, they started moving rapidly, scratching out the different waves they were receiving. Most were erratic. But one scratched out a straight, or semi straight line, indicating it had interference with the waves.

"There, more depth charges there. Don't let them escape." He directed his crewmen. They hastened to comply.

The screen cleared itself. It was needed for another run. 

"Depth charges deployed!"

Several minutes later, more information came in, indicating a large object in the water.

"At last!" His triumph echoed across the room.

"It could be a rock outcropping." Mina said, confused.

Nemo just shook his head. "According to this, the object moves. Rocks as big as they are not in the habit of moving, especially in this manner."

"In this manner?" Jekyll said hesitantly.

"It is turning towards us. It will attempt to resurface, and attack, if it does not attack us from below."

"Can we not submerge?" Mina asked coolly.

"Submerging would take time, and would open us to attack. I will not make the same mistakes again."

"Then what do we do?"

"The depth charges will force him to surface. When he does, we will open fire."

^*^**^^**^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^

Commander Orick grabbed the railing as another shockwave hit the ship.

Depth charges. 

Depth charges were simple looking canisters, but they tended to pack some power. Enough power to rock the Aurelius. The canisters exploded upon reaching a certain depth, setting out a minor shockwave.  Normally, it would be of no consequence, but the charges were in excess, and the shockwaves were threatening to shake his wonderful ship apart.

Growling angrily, he grabbed a hapless crewmember. "Have we nothing to counter it?"

"N-no sir!"

"Fool!" He shoved him away.

"Sir! We must resurface, or the snapback of the receding water will flip us on our backs!" Another crewmember at one of the panels yelled.

The receding water. When the depth charges exploded, the pushed water away. That set out the shockwave. But the receding water was just as dangerous, as the water rushed back to it's original place. It would pull his ship with it.

But the Nautilus was above. It would undoubtedly fire as soon as he resurfaced.

"Sir, the snapback is about to hit us!"

"Come up underneath the Nautilus!"

"Sir?" The crewmember asked, startled.

"We will knock the Nautilus off balance.  They'll try to outrun us, but we rise faster. We'll tip them."

"Sir, that could damage the Aurelius."

"It will also damage the Nautilus. Do it!"

^*^*^*^*^**^^*^*^^*^*^*^**^^*^*^*

"Sir!"

"What is it?"

"Captain Nemo, the enemy ship is resurfacing."

"Ready the cannons and rockets."

Several crewmembers ran every which way to obey. He felt triumph seize him again. Now the battle would be fought.

"Sir, the enemy ship is resurfacing underneath us!"

"What? All engines full!"

"All engines full!" The crewmember turned the engines full, preparing to shoot across the sea.

But it was too slow in starting.

"Sir, we aren't going fast enough! The enemy ship shall hit us!"

He instantly grabbed a switch on the wall. Sirens started going off. Red lights started flashing. 

He turned to his present crew.

"Brace for impact!"

^**^*^^**^*^*^*^*^^**^*^*^**^*^*^**^*^*^

A/N

I don't know if I got the depth charges totally right, but this is an LXG story, so we can all deal with a little bit of tweaking, hmm?

Silent Bob 546: Oh dear. I don't think you'll like him any more after this chapter! Thank you very much!

Steffi-333: Ah yes. Well, it took me almost two weeks, but I got back in action and I hope you like this chapter! Aww…I got hugged! Thank you!

Clez: Thank you for being so understanding. I was worried that people would chase after me with internet generated pitchforks if I didn't update sooner. Glad you liked it!

Niani:I got a small part of Skinner in here for you and the rest of the Skinner lovers, hope you liked it!

Clutzy Me: I'm glad you like it! Sorry, I don't go to that school. I don't think we're in the same state, even. But that's okay. Wow, I guess Wizard of Oz is a really popular play, hmm?

Yvonne Clark: I think everyone that truly enjoyed the movie got that feeling. I truly do hope they make a sequel, and he's back to kick butt and take names. They have to have Sean Connery play that part again, or it won't be the same. I'm afraid I don't think I have either of those, sorry. But you're welcome to e-mail me if the moods takes you, it's on my profile. Just make sure the subject isn't 'hi' or 'none'.

Rogue77: Yes, it was cute. Glad you liked it!

Fritz Will Get You: Well, it took me awhile, but I did update and I certainly hope you like the chapter!

Please leave your comments on the way out! 


	14. Clash of the Nautili

Chapter: Chapter   : Clash of the Nautili

Chapter Author: Beck2

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The Nautilus tipped crazily to the side as The Aurelius caught its back left and hoisted it clear out of the water. The grinding metal was deafening, and the citizens of Naples looked upon the two dueling sea powers with a mix of wonder of fascination. The Nautilus's nose sank dangerously in the water, with the imminent threat of being thrown onto its back a clear possibility.

But the Nautilus was not the only one having problems. The added weight on the middle of the Aurelius prevented it from resurfacing completely, and the metal of it's hull was being torn like sheets of paper. 

It was a terrible struggle. Everyone was transfixed by the battle between the two ships, of which there was only one outcome.

No one saw the figure fall from the tall tower of the Nautilus.

*^*^*^**^*^*^*^^*^*^*^*^*

"Bloody hell." Gilly whispered as he saw the ships in the water. 

"My god!"

"What are they doing?"

"Don't they have any decency?" Some outraged, some confused, some even awed voices rang out around him. None of them seemed to grasp the fact that this wasn't exactly a great place to be. 

Clunky whimpered and started forward. Gilly looked down, confused. "What's with you boy?"

He simply looked at the water and whined.

^*^*^*^**^*^*^^*^**^*^*^*^*^*^^**^

Jekyll grabbed the railing and gritted his teeth as the ship rocked violently. The room was beginning to slant, and objects were sliding across the floor, not to mention some crewmembers.

"Why are we caught?" Mina yelled over to Captain Nemo. Captain Nemo was grimly holding onto the railing, trying not to tumble into the wall.

"The Watch tower of the Aurelius has caught us, My Lady cannot detach herself."

"The Watch Tower?"

Let me out, Henry, I can take care of it.

"Edward."

Mina looked at him quizzically, then realized who he was talking to.

No buts Henry. It's the only way, you know that. Besides, if I'm beating the opposite side, who cares?

He supposed he couldn't argue with that logic. He climbed his way back up to the entrance and set out for the hatch that led to the deck. He could have sworn he hear Mina calling after him, but she didn't follow, so he couldn't tell. 

The way was long, and hazardous. Boxes and other heavy things came tumbling down the tilted hallways. Many of these things seemed hell bent on hitting him. 

He managed to reach his destination, and shoved the door open with all of his strength. He stumbled out of the ship and grabbed the guard railing. Taking out a small vial he carried, just for something like this, he uncorked it, and hesitated. It made him sick to know that he had the foresight to place the vial into his pocket. Had it come to the point where this horrific monstrosity had become so commonplace.

But that could be agonized over later, he realized, as the ship lurched and tilted more. He downed the vile tasting liquid in one gulp, and shuddered as the changes wracked his body.

*^*^**^^**^^**^*^*^*^*^*^**^*^*^*^**^^*

"More energy! I won't be beaten! Get the rockets ready!"

"More energy may overload the engines!"

"More energy!" Orick roared. He knew the ship could take it. He had looked over the designs of the incredible engine. The hull would fall off before the engine failed.

"Rockets are ready! Scatter rounds have been loaded, waiting for your orders!"

"Sir! Reports of some sort of monster on our ship!"

"Monster? Lower the telescope!" The said apparatus slid down, and he seized the handles and looked through the lens. At first he saw nothing, but as he rotated the scope, he saw a blurry large shape intent on destroying his Watch Tower.

"Who reported?"

"Some of the soldiers checking the hull guns."

"Tell them to shoot it." He ordered. The crew members hastened to obey.

Things were going all wrong. He had made mistakes. But soon, everything would be made right. Soon, there would only be one ship that governments everywhere would fear and respect. 

*^*^*^**^*^*^*^**^^**^*^*^*^*^*^^*^*^*

A light pain into his shoulder caused him to snort in agitation. Swinging around, he saw a couple of brave souls standing their ground, guns raised. He grinned maliciously ans started lumbering towards them. They cocked the guns and prepared to shoot, but he ran forward and swept them off the ship like so much trash.

"Pathetic. Not much sport in this."

Remember the objective, Edward.

"I remember Henry. Don't pester me." He returned to his task. Grabbing the tower around the base, he strained against it, seeking to push it over with an inhuman act of strength. The Nautilus was already helping, the weight making the tower groan like a dying animal. He only need to give a little push, and the Nautilus would slide off into the sea like a good little ship.

Perhaps a little push wasn't quite as accurate as it should have been.

Keep going Edward! You can do this, I know you can!

With Jekyll mentally cheering him on, Hyde pushed against the tower with all his might. There was a deafening screech of metal and he quickly let go and stumbled back. The tower that had caught Nemo's pride and joy fell from the Aurelius and crashed into the sea. The Nautilus cut large rips into the Aurelius's hull as it fell from it's bonds back into the sea.

The Aurelius bucked and shot up in the water, relieved of the intense weight holding it down. Hyde made a desperate grab onto some railing that was none too sturdy and held on as the Aurelius crashed back down. Not far away, the Nautilus had regained its poise and was circling hard to get its guns locked onto the Aurelius.

I believe its time we left, Edward.

"They've ruined my fun. Well, there's always Naples." Before Jekyll could protest, Hyde dove from the ship into the water.

*^^**^*^*^*^*^*^**^*^*^*^**^^**^*^*^**

"Prepare to fire the rockets!"

"Yes Captain!" the crewmember hastened over the fallen furniture and instruments to get to his station. Nemo gritted his teeth. It would take several days to fix his beloved ship. He was not happy.

"They did it." Mina seemed to be in awe. "They freed the Nautilus, but where are they?"

"They are smart enough to take care of themselves. We must worry about the battle at hand!" Nemo said sternly.

"Right." Mina nodded. "I'll go check the Medical bay, I assume we will have injured."

He nodded curtly and never let his eye stray from his enemy once. There was no telling what Orick would do if he found himself to be outgunned.

^*^**^^**^*^*^^**^^*^*^*^*^**^*^*^^**^

"Little do they know, they've done me a service. Fire the scatter round!" Orick roared.

"Yes sir!"

The ship rocked a little as the rockets were deployed. There were only two of them.

He watched with drawn breath. These rockets were his pride and joy, they would take care of all of his problems. He watched with anticipation as the Nautilus loosed some rockets of its own, aimed for he ones he had deployed. 

Perfect.

"Sir! They've fired a missile at us! It's headed right for us!"

"Hard to port! We have to get out of its way!" He cried out hoarsely as the crewmembers dove to their tasks, not out of respect, but self-preservation.

"We're not going to make it!" Came the shrill scream of a frightened crewman.

"Must you be so defeatist?" He growled as the missile sped toward them.

^*^*^**^*^*^^*^^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

"Sir! Our anti-rockets have met the target!"

"And?"

"They appear to have been destroyed…wait…numerous targets are coming straight for the ship! They're scattering, we can't lock on!"

"Brace for impact!" Nemo roared. "Submerge the Nautilus!"

There wouldn't be enough time, they all knew, but rarely did they question the man that weathered them through so many storms. 

Offering up a small prayer to Kali,  Nemo watched as the rockets fell.

^*^*^*^*^**^*^^*^*^**^^*^**^^*^**^^*^*^**^

Well, that was an action packed chapter if I do comment so myself. Sorry for not updating, I was sidetracked, but at least it wasn't as long as the last time, hmm?

Asteria: I don't know either, but I'm glad you liked the chapter.

Silent Bob 546: Wow, I'm glad you put so much emotion into your reviews, it's really great! Thank you very much!

Clez: Too true. In the LXG universe, anything can happen. One of my favorite universes. I'm glad you liked the chapter, thank you!

Steffi-333: Oh, I'm sorry for giving you an attack, but I'm glad everything is better! Thank you very much, I think that chapter was one of my best.  I hope you like this chapter as well!

Niani: I'm sorry. But thank you very much!

Chaotic Dreamer: Thank you very much!

Fritz Will Get You: Thank you very much, and I hope you like this chapter!

Please leave your comments on the way out!


	15. Deathtrap

Chapter Title: Deathtrap

Chapter Author: Beck2

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The entire ship pitched in agony as the rockets fell upon her hull. Crewmembers, equipment, even walls firmly placed fell about the ship, unable to keep their balance. Water began to shoot through cracks in the hull as crewmembers, both injured and whole, struggled to stop the streaming water.

Captain Nemo gritted his teeth. He too had been thrown by the catastrophic rocking of his beloved ship. Now the Nautilus was groaning and wobbling uncertainly in the water.

"Captain! We cannot take another hit like that!"

"Don't submerge! Get us on the surface, it will drain out some of the water!" He roared back.  He had to take the chance. If he surfaced, he risked another attack. If he submerged, sinking would be impossible to avoid. "Hurry!"

"Yes sir!"

*^*^^*^**^^*^**^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

The Aurelius groaned in pain as the missile tore through its hull, following through to the other side. Water rushed in swiftly, tilting the ship to the side. Crewmembers lost their balance and fell sliding against the far wall, unable to keep on their feet. Orick cursed as he saw his ship beginning to sink. There was no way to save his ship. It was, as they say, dead in the water. And rapidly sinking to boot. He cursed again, and turned to leave.

"Captain! Where are you going?"

"Where does it look like I'm going? I'm leaving, you are welcome to join me or go down with the ship."

He left the crewmembers to digest that little piece of information before leaving. He heard them clambering after him. Ignoring them, he set out for the escape hatches. Beside every escape hatch there was a flotation device that could be used. That was what he was aiming for; he could swim to Naples from here. And then there would always be another day.

Always another day.

^*^**^^**^^**^*^**^^**^*^*^*^**^*^*^*^

He felt someone hold his head up over the water and something pushing him from behind. He choked up water and tried to clear his eyes, but smoke was obscuring his eyesight.

"Come on, man, move your bloody legs, we can't carry you all the way to shore, y'know."

"Kid?" Sawyer lost his grip and his head went below the water. He kicked his legs and came back up.

"Good man, you can swim. Now come along, must get away from the ships intent on destroying each other." The boy grabbed his shirt and yanked him in a direction. Sawyer, blind and barely keeping afloat, followed him with a little bit of nervousness.

"You're not leading me into deeper water, are you?"

"Under different circumstances, maybe. But right now we'll both be in the cooking pot if we don't get to shore right away."

"What's going on?" He spat out some more water.

"The ships are both leaning, they're gonna sink. And if they got that much firepower, they're gonna blow. We're right in the middle of them."

"Oh s—" He immediately kicked out his legs and blindly let Gilly guide him.

^**^^*^*^*^*^**^^^*^*^*^*  
  


He struggled in the water. Not only was he not an incredibly good swimmer, he was trying to guide a full grown man out of danger.

He never had this problem before he got caught. Was there some sort of horrific punishment he was enduring for some wrong he had committed in the past? Some horrible wrong, not just stealing from the gullible?

"Keep going man, the ships are still close, we haven't got all day." He grumbled. Sawyer didn't answer him.

Clunky kept his teeth firmly on Sawyer's collar, pulling him along. He hadn't even realized there was anyone in the water until Clunky sprinted out into the water and he followed to bring the large dog back. Romping around in a ship's battlefield was no place to be. Then Clunky had dived down and swam back up with the coughing American, and he'd been dragged into helping, the dog wouldn't just leave the man.

The smoke was causing him to cough painfully as he tried to spit water out of his mouth and keep good air going into his lungs. He kept swimming as hard as he could, hoping desperately that if the ships did explode, they didn't do so until he had reached the shore.

The Aurelius groaned loudly and then a deafening explosion rocked the waters, pouring wave over wave of water onto them. Gilly tried to yell but was drowned out when another wave washed over them all.

*^^*^**^^*^**^^*^*^*^**^*^^*

Skinner caught Mina's arm as she slid past him. The hall was tipping dangerously, and he gripped the doorframe as he held onto Mina's arm. 

This was very annoying. Now all of his scotch and drink were everywhere and he hadn't gotten properly drunk, and it was almost upsetting.

"Hold on Mina…OW! Not so tight, woman, I don't have a vampire's arm you know!" He yelped as her fingers dug painfully into his arm. 

She didn't answer but hung on grimly to his arm as the ship began tilting the other way.

"What the 'ell is Nemo doing, can't he keep this bloody ship at one angle?!" Skinner yelled as he fell onto the opposite side of the doorframe. 

"He must be trying to get the water out of the ship, though I wish he would do it in a fashion that does not entail me being thrown about like a ragdoll." She grumbled.

The hall slowly but surely leveled out, and crewmen that had been holding onto anything bolted down immediately struggled upright to run to their tasks, Mina following their example. 

Skinner looked back into his room. Everything had been turned upside down. He shook his head slowly. This week had just not been a good week.

Not at all.

*^*^**^*^*^*^^**^*^*^*^*^*^**^*^*^*^**

Nemo allowed a small breath of relief escape as the Nautilus resettled herself evenly in the water. One of the crewmembers came back with news that the Aurelius had numerous onboard explosions and was sinking rapidly. He felt a swell of pride at the news. He had done it, had cleaned of the smudge on his Lady's good name and triumphed over his enemy in battle. 

But it wasn't over just yet. He had no doubts that his worthy adversary may have escaped the deathtrap. There were several boats in the water, and The Nautilus could barely move, let alone chase them. There was also Hyde to think about. Hyde most certainly would have struck out to …amuse himself. 

"Fetch the other League members. We will go after the surviving boats, justice will be served." The crewmember he had been addressing nodded and hurried into the general direction of the medical bay.

Mina was not needed there, for now. He had excellent doctors. Besides, he was loath to take chances. It did help to have a few extra pairs of eyes along with his crewmembers.

He smiled grimly. This was the day everyone would realize the price of slandering his reputation and blotching the spirit of his treasure. 

It was Orick's last day.

*^*^*^*^*^*^^*^*^^**^*^*^*^*^*^**^*

A/N

Yes, I know, it was a very late update. I'm sorry, I swear! I had this written several days ago, well, mostly, but then I was delayed. I'd tell you a long inventive story, but the truth of it was that it was two essays about Hamlet. Anyway, my homework kept me away from writing, and that's why it took me so long to come back. Like I said, I apologize, and I really do try. 

Asteria: I think Jekyll is just plain cute, but that's just me. Anyway, yeah, I like the couple, but coming from me that's not saying a whole lot, I like almost every couple I've ever read. I hope you like the chapter.

Silent Bob 546: Heh, you're welcome. I always liked Hyde. Thank you very much!

Niani: Thank you very much, sorry to keep you waiting!

Steffi-333: Ah, but I did mention Sawyer, in an offhand way. Anyway, I'm glad you liked the chapter; I was hoping that it was action packed enough for Hyde, though I know that that's probably an improbability. But, you're right, I didn't mention Skinner, so I gave him a little spot to his own, hope you like it, short as it is.

Clez: Funny you should mention that whole blowing up thing…Anyway, I'm glad you liked it, and I hope you like this chapter too! 

Yvonne Clark: Ah, thank you very much! I'm always glad when people compliment me. Yeah, feel free to e-mail me for any conversation at all.

Fritz Will Get You: I put more, I hope you like it!

Please leave your reviews on the way out!


	16. Trouble in Naples

Chapter: Sixteen: Trouble in Naples

Chapter Author: Beck2

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Less than thirty minutes after the explosion of his beloved ship, Orick ran the nose of his safety boat into the shallow water of the Naples dock. Jumping on to dry land, he did not pause for his crew. As far as he was concerned, they weren't even his crew. No ship, no need for a crew. Besides, he could leave the area much easier without having to worry about the stragglers.

He would have to move fast. Not five minutes away were Nemo's boats, with a few League members to hunt him down. But he had never been caught easily, and he wasn't about to start now. 

He ducked away into the streets of Naples, weaving in and out of the crowds who stood dumbstruck at the spectacle of the ships that had happened mere minutes before.

*^*^^*^**^^*^*^*^*^*^**^*^*^**^*^*^

Nemo frowned as the crewmembers of the Aurelius were rounded up. They gave up with little fight. Without a leader to bark orders, the majority of them were listless and lost. The others that fought were shown no mercy for there involvement in this altercation. 

Skinner had disappeared to go talk to the Naples officials. The last thing they wanted was to be delayed by hysterical politicians. Usually, Jekyll, Mina, or himself would speak with the officials, but he was hunting Orick, and he needed Miss Harker to find him.

And Jekyll would still be Hyde, and therefore unavailable for civil conversation. 

"I smell him. He went that way." She gestured into the heart of Naples. Nemo gave a curt nod, then gave his first officer orders to keep a close eye over the prisoners. One hand gripping his saber, he immediately strode off after mina, trusting her vampire instincts to show the way.

^**^*^*^*^^*^*^^**^*^*^**^*^*^*^*^*^

Bursting out of the water, Hyde shook the water from his beady eyes. It had taken him forever to get out of the water, partially because he allowed himself to have a little fun with some of the safety boats from the Aurelius. He glanced around, taking in his surroundings. There were several clumps of people, all of them staring at him. He gave them a fiendish grin and started towards them.

_NO EDWARD! STOP!_

_Shut up Henry, I want to have some fun_. He thought back with a leer.

People immediately began screaming and running every which way. He snorted. As if running would help them. It would just make it more fun for him.

^*^*^**^^**^*^*^*^^**^*^^**^^*

"We have the situation totally under control. You don't need to worry." Skinner told the slightly balding man in reassurance. 

A loud roar split through the air. Skinner jumped. The balding man squeaked in terror.

"Bloody hell." He sighed. Only one creature in the world roared like that. So much for having the situation under control. 

"What was that?" The man demanded.

Skinner glanced at him. "The cream topping to the worst week of my life."

*^^**^^**^*^*^^*^^*^**^^*^*^**^^**^**^

He grabbed the edge of the boat. It stayed steady as he hauled himself up into it. He blindly fished around in the water to lend a hand to the smaller person. As soon as he felt a hand grab his, he hauled the younger person into the boat with him. Then they both struggled with the soggy furred animal.

After the ship exploded, he barely managed to find his bearings after the waves had knocked him around. He would have drowned if he hadn't managed to get his sense of direction worked out by some miracle. The dog found him first, Gilly soon after. Then the boy had spotted a boat, which to all of them seemed like a divine gift. 

"Any guesses why this boat is just sailing here without a care?" He heard Gilly grunt as they pulled the mutt into the boat. 

"No. You see anything?"

"Not really. Nothing interesting. Except an almost sunk ship and the Nautilus sitting there like a dead duck."

"How bad is it?" Sawyer asked, a little nervous. His eyes still were blurry and unfocused. But they were getting steadily better.

"Some big holes, but it floats. Where are the oars on this thing…" He heard Gilly's tone suddenly change.

"Something wrong?"

"There sharks in these waters?"

"I dunno, why?"

"Uh…nothin'. Just satisfyin' a boy's curiosity."

*^*^^*^**^***^*^*^*^*^*^^**^*^*^*^^**^*^*^^**^*^^*

Gilly carefully let the oar slip back into the water. He had fished it out thinking it might be useful, but as it turned out, it looked like something large had used it for a toothpick. And then bit it in half. 

He didn't think that mentioning this discovery would help their current situation. The last thing that really needed to be mentioned was man eating monsters. Finding a more intact oar, he started to row towards the Naples Dock. He could have gone to the Nautilus, it was closer, but what the American didn't know wouldn't hurt him, and he didn't have an overwhelming desire to go back to that ship anyway.

Clunky lay on the floor of the boat, soaking wet and totally miserable. He was feeling the same way. Shedding his coat, which would have made swimming much easier in the first place, he tossed it on the floor next to Clunky, who growled at it and stuck his nose up. 

"Got an extra oar?" The American asked. Gilly shook his head, then remembered that he couldn't see that well.

"No."

"Where are we going?"

"Shore, it's closer." He lied through his teeth. "I don't really trust this boat. Figured we go to the place that's the closest."

"Alright. Tell me when you get tired, I'll take over."

"Mighty kind of you."

*^*^**^^*^*^*^*^*^**^*^^*^*^*^*^**^^*^*

A/N

I know, it's getting harder and harder for me to update on a regular basis. The fact is, I've been totally swamped with band competitions and the four week homework stretch, and it's been taking up all of my time. I'm sorry, but that's how it is. And to make things more difficult in the way of updating, I'm going on a trip, and I'll be gone for a grand total of four days, but it'll actually be longer, for all the things I have to prepare for and the fact that I'll probably be too tired when I come back to update. But I don't plan on dropping this story until it's finished, which will probably be in several chapters, so all of you that are hanging onto this story, I promise I'll pick it back up as soon as I have the time.  It may just be a bit of a long wait. Sorry about that!

Asteria: No problem, I was just wondering what had happened, but that's totally fine. If you pick it back up, don't forget to tell me, I'd like to read the new stuff you put in! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and like this one just as much!

Niani: Heh, thank you. And I hope you liked this chapter!

Silent Bob 546: Gilly with a good side? I suppose odder things have happened. Glad you liked the last chapter!

Clez: Hope this made everything all right for you, and I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

Yvonne Clark: Heh, that is funny! You don't know how it got to Nemo? Wow, you must be like me. Every time we get to see a history movie, I'm slowly falling asleep, until it says some key phrase and I wake up wondering why I'm thinking about Robin Hood during the Industrial Revolution. Heh, interesting accent. Hope you like the chapter!

Steffi-333: Sorry about that, I really do try to keep updates well in control, but it's just not working. Heh, another Skinner lover enters the fold. I hope you like this chapter!

Fritz Will Get You: I'm adding more all of the time, so I hope you like this installment!

Please leave your reviews and comments on the way out. Thank you very much!


	17. Open Conflict

Chapter: Seventeen: Open Conflict

Chapter Author: Beck2

*^^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

"Hyde! Put him down you stupid Git! Wait!" His voice turned panicky. "Gently—OOPH!" 

Skinner had the wind knocked out of him by the flying body. As he lay flat on his back, he contemplated on how lucky it was that Hyde was playing rather than really on a rampage. If he threw that person like he meant it, they would have to peel his poor thieving body off the stone buildings around him. 

Shoving off the man that had hit him in less than good temper, he got up to, once again, act the diplomat. After all, he reasoned, bloodthirsty politicians, bloodthirsty Hyde, it was almost frightening the similarities. 

That was it. He was never going to listen to one of Nemo's schemes again, not even if there were dozens of cities at stake. He was a thief, not a diplomat.

Following at a safe distance, or as safe as he could be without losing Hyde, Skinner began to pepper the brute with insults, trying to get his attention off of the hapless citizens.

"You stupid brute! It's a good thing you don't have a mother or she would have died of shame by now!"  He knew it was a bad idea, and usually, he'd have run ahead and warned off the other citizens, but he was too angry to care. Not only had it been a horrible week, he now had to deal with this problem, alone no less, and it did absolutely nothing for his mood.

Hyde snorted and ignored him. Apparently insults about mothers didn't affect him all that much. Now he knew Hyde was a beast.

"You bastard! You know…Henry is ten times better than you are! You're just some slobbering incoherent bastard that he has the misfortune of living with!"

"What did you say?!"

Now that got his attention. 

For better or worse.

*^^**^*^^*^*^*^**^^*^**^*^^*^*^**^

He slowly turned toward the grease painted thief, and lumbered forward, every step punctuated by a spitted word. "Henry is nothing without me. Nothing but a sniveling weakling."

"Well he must not be all that bad if he has to put up with some idiot like you."

"You are this close to being crushed like the worm you are." Hyde glared down at the smirking thief, who was beginning to look a little uncertain under his mask.

"It's amazing you can use such big words with you being such an ape and all."

The playthings that had occupied his mind were getting away. He had wanted so desperately to play with them, rip off an arm or two, squash them underneath his thumb like a bug. But then this little League member had shown up, and dared say these things about him?! The insults were nothing, but to say Henry, that wretched existence, was better than he was, was a foul lie!

He felt his rage keep building. One of them was going to die. And he knew which one it was. He swung one meaty fist above his head and swung down to crush the annoying worm. His quarry proved to be more than just fancy words though, as he ducked away from the assault and danced away from his second fist.

"Stand still, damn you!"

"What, and let you turn me into a thieven' pancake? I think not."

Roaring angrily he launched himself at the smaller man, who once again eluded him, this time by mere inches. 

"I will get you. And then I WILL TEAR YOU APART!"

The thief didn't answer, running quickly away from the murderous fingers of Hyde. 

But as luck would have it, and luck was certainly on his side, Hyde thought gleefully, the thief tripped and stumbled, slowing him down enough to be slammed against a wall. 

The thief lay there motionless, crumpled against the wall.

_No, Edward you can't!_

"Yes Henry, I can and I will." He reached up his arms to crush the unlucky Skinner's skull.

And then there was pain.

^**^*^^**^^*^*^*^**^*^*^*^*^^*

It was irony, really and truly. 

His sanctuary was a most holy place, a place called the Duomo Cathedral. It was irony that, one of the places he had wanted to destroy, one of his most important targets, would be the place that would save him.

Duomo Cathedral was deserted, not one soul to help dust the already spotless relics and statues.  

Commander Orick hid in one of the curtains, listening to the hubbub outside. Everyone was talking. It should have been easy to slip away in the immediate confusion. But police had been true to their code, and scrambled forward to the rescue, and he still in his gray uniform had been too easy to spot and question.  And killing someone for clothing had not been an option either, it would only set more fuel to an already volatile fire. 

Hiding would have to do. 

Tapping his fingers on the wall next to an ornate sword, he considered his position. When he had bought away those plans from an…'associate' of the reclusive M, he did not stop to consider the lengths The Nautilus's captain would go to stop him. 

He would have to do better next time.

*^^*^**^^*^*^*^**^

Via Tribunali. That was the street he stood on. Not far from here was the famous Duomo Cathedral, built at the end of the twelfth century, surviving earthquakes and disrepair, only to make a glorious return, and resting place of the relics of San Gennaro, whose reason for sainthood eluded him at the moment.

Knowing these things were simply a means to an end. He tried to remain worldly, so that he may better deal with obstacles in his path. This was no different.

But that was not the thing that held his chief interest. Not his philosophy. It was Orick. Mina Harker's superior vampire skills had led her to this cathedral, the last battleground that he may ever face. 

He gripped the saber hilt and moved forward to the ornate doors and pushed them open with little force. Mina Harker stayed outside, loathe to come inside, though whether it was because of the cathedral or the private battle he stressed that she was not to interfere in, he was not certain of the reason. 

He stood in the doorway and passed his eyes over the scene that lay before him. The building was massive with a hundred places to hide.

"Orick. Come out and face me!" His voice boomed in the oddly empty halls. He stepped forward into the building. Paintings, sculptures, rich beauty seemed to permeate the atmosphere. 

"If you are a man of honor, you will face me." His dark eyes glanced around but he saw nothing. "Come out Orick, and face your death with what honor you have left."

"Nemo is it? You should know that honor has no place in this world." The cutting words came from behind. He ducked his head down to dodge the whistling blade, and drew his sword from the sheath and slashed upwards, jarring slightly when blade met blade.

"This is your last day Orick."

"So you say. Let me tell you-" He used his strength to shove Nemo back, "There is always another day."

^***^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^*^*^**^^*

"Can't you row any faster? It feels like we aren't going anywhere."

"Remind me again why I helped your ass out of the water." Gilly muttered darkly.

"What was that?" Sawyer looked at him with red eyes, still smoky and watery from the fire.

"I said, you want to go faster, get a bloody damn oar!"

"I would if you would get me one to use! I can't exactly see them!"

Clunky whined sickly and covered his muzzle with a paw.

"Don't throw up on the boat Clunk, just a little ways to shore now." Gilly said reassuringly to the dog. 

"We're gonna miss all of the action."

"Don't you think we have enough excitement in our lives? I mean, you almost drowned, I saved your life, we're even now by the by, and now we have a sick dog in our boat, you might want to lift up your shoes looks like he's going to toss the bread he had for breakfast."

"What do you mean, we're even?" Sawyer put his feet up as best could without rocking the boat.

"Well…" Glly shifted a little uncomfortably. "You saved me from the fire, I save you from water, kind of makes us even, you know?"

"Yeah." Sawyer said with a little wonder. "Yeah, it does."

There was a silenece between the two men on the boat.

"So does that make us friends now?"

"Hell no."

"Just wanted to check." Sawyer squinted and looked out over the water he could barely see.

*^^*^*^*^*^**^^**^*^^*^*^**^*^*^*^*^

A/N

Wow, this must be the prize winner for my latest update ever for this story. Anyway, yes, I know it took me a long time just to get back, I got back from my trip and I was dead, fell asleep for most of Monday, got a bunch of homework piled on me for the rest of the week, managed to get one update for another story up Friday, was busy all weekend, and this was the first time I managed to get time for this chapter. So, I wrote it a little bit longer than usual, hoping somehow to make it up to all of you with that little gift. I know it probably doesn't make up for my tardiness, but there you have it. Again, I'm sorry, and thank you all for having the patience to wait for me.

Oh, and should anyone wonder, I had a great trip, and it was a nice vacation from school and writing, though the latter's vacation turned out far longer than I wanted it to. 

Asteria: I hope you like Hyde's bit here too!

Niani: That's great! I hope you love this one just as much!

Steffi-333: Heh, yes, but he has to cause his little bit of mischief, or he'll be out of sorts for days, you know. Hope I didn't worry you too much this time. I know I haven't updated in a while. Hope you liked this chapter!

Silversnow: Well, I put in a nice long Hyde piece, hope you like it!

Silent Bob 546: I won't ask what, as I too, have had odder stuff happen. I don't know who I feel sorry for more either. It's teetering between Sawyer and Gilly and Skinner. Hope you liked this chapter!

Clez: I know it took me awhile to get back on track, and I did have a good trip. Sorry! I didn't mean it really! Heh. Thank you very much on Hyde, he's actually a fun character to write for.

Yvonne Clark: Heh, I know, I want to find a documentary on fictional characters, though that may defeat the purpose. My favorite character? So hard to choose! Well, to be totally honest, I love all of the characters. And favorites has to be a tie between Nemo, Quartermain, Skinner and Henry. Edward, Mina, and Sawyer take the second tier. 

Fritz Will Get You: Wow. Thank you very much! And thank you to your cats, I hadn't realized I'd picked up more feline readers.

Please leave your comments on the way out, and thank you very much.


	18. The Last Breath

Chapter: Chapter Eighteen: The Last Breath

Chapter Author: Beck2

* * *

He leaped backwards as the blade slashed in an arc towards his neck. A few hairs were lost to the blade, but he counted them as a worthy sacrifice. He feinted forward and kicked Orick in the chest, causing the man to grow angry and slash at his shoulder. He stepped back and allowed the blade to whistle past.

When Orick had shoved him back at the beginning of the battle, it had taken all of his strength to keep upright. For a man getting on in his years, Orick was a foe that need not be underestimated.

Parrying another thrust from the man, he watched carefully the other man's style and technique. Orick fought with skill and ease, but he would drop his guard in favor of killing blows, which took all his own skill and cunning to escape. But therein would lie Orick's demise, he was too eager to kill.

Deftly slapping the blade away and kicking Orick hard in the stomach, he leaped away from the wall Orick had been steadily trying to push him into. Orick doubled over slightly from the pain but was up again, eyes blazing. Orick jumped after him, slashing again and again, raining blows that were barely blocked.

Their blades locked again, this time in a test of strength, both combatants equally matched, but not so much in skill. Nemo rolled and slammed his elbow into the other man's mouth, causing blood to dribble from a split lip.

"You should give up now. You won't win."

"Nemo, I thought we were two of a kind, we shouldn't allow ourselves words that mean nothing. You know I won't surrender. Though, if you should, I will make your death quick, though not necessarily painless."

"Your offer has been considered, and thoroughly declined."

"So be it." He leapt forward sword raised.

* * *

The agony was intense.

He didn't know what was happening at first. At first he thought it had been an attack, someone had shot him in the stomach, and Hyde would kill them.

But the potion had run its course, and now his bones were rearranging themselves wildly, cracking, breaking, reforming. His muscles lost weight rapidly, and he thought he would pass out from the sudden loss of weight. The worst was his back and all of its nerves, horrific, crescendoing pain that never seemed to stop.

He screamed.

He screamed as Hyde did, from the pain visited upon him by that horrible potion.

And as soon as it started it was over, and he was on his knees, Henry Jekyll once more, panting, trying to catch his breath from the change. His eyes were very blurry at first, slowly getting clearer as he found his bearing and realized where he was.

A low groan met his ears. It was strange to hear it. Every time he came back from Hyde, things seemed new. Perhaps it was because he was trapped from the world inside Hyde, and Hyde was trapped inside himself.

"Bloody…'Enry? You have no idea how glad I am to see you, mate."

He just nodded at the jovial thief. His breath was still coming in short gasps, and his body still going through the shock of the change.

"You alright, Doc?"

"I need a few minutes to rest." He squinted out across the building that Edward destroyed, not to long ago either. "Did he…Edward…kill anyone?"

"Too soon to say. Though I must say, lucky break for me, eh? 'E just winged me a bit, think 'e knocked me out." The thief rubbed his head, rubbing off some of the white paint. "If you hadn't come back, I would have been a thief soufflé, I think."

"You're welcome…" He said hesitantly. He could not be thanked for the change. That could be blamed on the longevity of the potion. But Skinner seemed happy enough about surviving, so to only point out his closeness to death would only ruin his cheerfulness.

"I suppose we should go find the others, see if they need our help, though it's unlikely, I've already screwed things up and you don't look so good."

"I'll be fine, I just need to rest…" He grew dizzy and felt darkness steal over his mind.

The last thing he heard before losing consciousness was Skinner asking him if he were alright.

* * *

"Why are you not allowing us access? This place is holy, we must watch over it!"

The crowd was growing more and more irate. Most of them were priests and workers, eager to return to the church they had been asked to evacuate.

Mina kept them at bay with only so much patience. She would not interfere in a fight that she could see Nemo was taking so personally. And she certainly would not allow these people to do so.

"Let us in!"

"No! You will stay out here until it has been deemed safe."

"Who are you to say that?"

She turned and glared at the man who spoke. He stepped back, visibly gulping, obviously afraid of the flash of red he saw in those eyes. She passed them over the crowd.

"You will go in when I say, not a moment before. Is that understood?"

The only answer was frightened nods.

* * *

"Shallows, everyone out for Naples." Gilly hopped out of the boat and landed in the three foot water. He looked up at the port. "Looks a bit rougher than when I left."

Some of the crew he recognized from the Nautilus began to walk over.

"Your captain's boys are coming. I'll leave you with them, eh?"

"Stop!" One of the men yelled as he turned to leave. Several guns cocked at him.

"Wait I've….changed my mind. Why don't we all go talk to them?"

"Hey, it's alright, he's with me." Sawyer waved from the boat. Clunky was whining and preparing to head for dry land.

The crew splashed into the shallows to pull the boat to shore, and some doctors ran to make sure Sawyer was alright.

He wondered about making a fast getaway, but even though Sawyer had given his approval, the crewmen were still glaring at him. And he had no doubt that they would shoot him if they felt it necessary.

"I think we'll be stuck here for awhile, Clunky m'boy."

The dog whined as it jumped out of the boat to stand by his side.

* * *

An antique table was turned into firewood as his slash went wayward. The Indian Captain kept eluding him, forever out of his grasp.

No, not forever.

He knew he should calm himself. But he was past caring. All he wanted was to kill him. He wanted to kill Nemo. If not for Nemo, he would have had the Aurelius, the money, the prestige, the power. It took him a long time to build up those things, and now he had nothing. All because of one man.

Slashing downwards, he caught the wrist of the Indian, and relished in the thin trickle of blood he saw. He considered it payment for a broken lip.

The blades sang a dangerous song as they struck each other, each with their own tainted melody. His was rushed, blow after blow of rage. Nemo's was defensive, parry after parry in desperation.

It infuriated him to no end. Why couldn't the damn Indian Captain stay still?

Then he saw it, as if a way had been divinely given to him. Nemo had dropped his guard, now he could finish this.

"Die!" He thrust the sword forward with all of his strength.

Time seemed to slow as Nemo rolled away from the blade, but not fast enough. The blade went through his shoulder, pinning him against the wall. He would have shouted at this triumph, even though it wasn't the one he wanted, but he realized the grim look of triumph mirrored in the other man's eyes.

It was then he felt the cold in his heart. Not the proverbial cold heart of feelings, but a cold that only comes when a sword pierces a heart.

"You…tricked me…."

"You were too eager to kill. It was your downfall." Nemo replied seriously.

"Can't end like this…always another…day." He felt his life slip away slowly.

Nemo watched him with grim satisfaction. There was no pity in his dark eyes.

"There are no more days for you, Commander Orick."

He felt the tormenting weight of those words as his last breath escaped his lips.

* * *

A/N

I know, it hasn't updated in a week and a half, sorry guys, but I think this was earlier than last time! I had some problems getting this chapter written, and I am very sorry for the wait.

Clez: Thank you very much! I really do hope you like the fight scene, I don't usually do fight scenes, and I don't know if it turned out kosher. I hope you like this chapter as well!

Silent Bob 546: Yeah, he was asking for it. Good thing luck was on his side. Thank you very much!

Niani: Thank you very much! Sorry, not very much of any sort of torture, but I hope you love it all the same!

Steffi-333: Well, I hope it was up to your standards, and I hope you do well on your tests! Good luck!

Silversnow: I'm glad you're getting so into this story. Hope you liked this chapter!

Fritz Will Get You: Ah yes, just one more gentle shove to get me back into writing. Sorry for the wait, I know that it's horrible for me to do. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter even though it's late!

Please leave your comments on the way out; especially on anything I can do to improve on the fight scenes should you have suggestions. Thank you all very much!


	19. The Last Word

Chapter Title: Chapter Nineteen: The Last Word

Chapter Author: Beck2

* * *

"She's some sort of monster…" The murmurings in the crowd were getting louder and more violent, and Mina was beginning to regret her decision to help keep citizen demise to a minimum. If Nemo didn't get finished with Orick soon, if he did win the battle, then she was going to have to take care of a few of the more annoying crowd members.

There were several gasps from the crowd as the doors behind her swung open and a silently triumphant Nemo strode out. She smelt even before she saw the blood that oozed from a wound in his shoulder. Regardless, he acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary and strode up to her.

"The deed is done, now we must go back to my lady." He said in his usual calm voice. He then turned to leave through the crowd, which parted before him. She glanced back through the open doors of the church, and hurried after him, not wanting to see the scene that would obviously follow.

Though, most of the crowd could say that this would be a day none of them would forget.

* * *

Looking around with his newly restored vision, he could see that the more political of their party would have much explaining to do.

Out in the water, the mostly sunken form of the Aurelius still belched smoke from holes still above the water. The water around it was turning an unhealthy gray. The Nautilus, still afloat, was tilting a bit and had several rips in her hull. Even so, the ship looked like the proud scarred victor of an incredible battle.

All around him were the defeated crew of the Aurelius, guarded by the riflemen of the Nautilus, all of which had a sort of silent smugness to their stances.

The town looked like it had been chewed on in some places. There were large holes in some walls that could have been made by a herd of raging elephants.

Or Hyde, which seemed to be a more reasonable assumption, oddly enough.

"I can't believe we missed all of the fun." Sawyer grumbled to the younger boy.

"I can't believe I didn't know my own luck." The boy commented. "I should have known I wouldn't get rid of you all that easy."

"I don't know why you don't like any of us."

The both jumped when the sign of a building that had already been hanging on by one thin chain clattered to the ground.

"Don't you?" The boy deadpanned, staring at the city.

"This isn't how it usually works out."

"Really?" The boy rung out some of his hair. "Isn't that—"

"A little help here!" Skinner stumbled out of an alleyway, dragging with him the pale body of Jekyll. Immediately he ran over to help.

"What happened?"

"'E fainted. Hyde almost beat me to a bloody pulp. Course I was partially responsible, but I still think 'e has something against me."

"Hyde has something against everyone." They handed him over to some of the doctors. Other than looking like hell, Jekyll seemed to be alright.

"'Ey, what are you doin' here? I would have thought you'd be long gone." Skinner patted the kid on the shoulder.

"I did too."

"As did I." Nemo came walking out from another alley, with Mina. He seemed triumphant.

"I take it you got 'im?"

"Yes."

"I can't believe I missed all the fun." Sawyer remarked again sullenly.

"Where were you Tom?" Mina looked slightly amused by his bedraggled appearance.

"I fell of the ship when the other boat hit the Nautilus."

"A little overenthusiastic about meeting the enemy, eh Tom?" Skinner grinned at him. He just rolled his eyes.

"Not that I mind your little reunion, actually, to be truthful, I do, but could you all get over yourselves and call your crew off? Clunky and I have places to go."

"Yes. There is still the question of you." Nemo said seriously. "You are a thief."

"I gave you the book."

"Only because it suited you to do so. You used it to bargain your way off my ship."

Sawyer watched the kid try to weasel himself out of another bad situation.

"If I hadn't given you information, you wouldn't have even known about the book."

"Again, you worked only for yourself."

"But he did save my life. He didn't have to." Sawyer broke in. "And even though he is a self satisfying little thief, he has proved he does good things sometimes."

"Well at least I have one person on my side." The boy commented sarcastically.

"Very well." Nemo said, ignoring the boy. "You choose Sawyer. You have a realistic view of the boy, and none of the sentimentalities." The last comment was directed towards Skinner. "You decide what to do with him."

Sawyer looked at the boy. The kid looked like he had been dragged through dirty dishwater, and his dog looked just as bad.

"Get out of here kid. If we catch you again though, all bets are off."

The kid looked totally taken off guard for a second, then he grinned and nodded.

"Wouldn't have it any other way govnah'. Come along Clunky. G'day Skinner, I'd say hope to see you again, but we'll see, shall we?" The kid practically ran into the city with his dog and disappeared into the crowds.

There was a low groan as Jekyll came to, and Mina went over to check on him.

"So, we won. Now what?"

"We repair the Nautilus. That will take several weeks. Until then, we must find another way to bring these men to justice in London."

"Another ship, maybe?"

Nemo looked at Skinner as if he had said something totally outrageous. He almost had to stifle a laugh at the look of masked indignation.

A small group of people detached themselves from the city and marched down the street towards them.

"Bloody…politicians. I'm out, you all can deal with them, and I already dealt with them once. I need a drink." Skinner turned away from them.

"I have patients to deal with." Mina said from her examination of the still very pale Jekyll.

"I appear to be a patient." Henry said with an apologetic smile.

"And I must have a shoulder wound tended to. I believe that leaves you, Sawyer, to deal with them."

"Excuse me? I'm no good at that sort of thing!" He protested quickly.

"Yes, but Skinner was the only one available a moment ago, and he did just fine. You'll do wonderfully." Mina said in a swift, no nonsense all business tone.

"But…" It was no use. His so called 'comrades' were turning away from him. He would be left to fight one of his toughest enemies.

"What went on here?!" One of the men bellowed, a short balding man. Sawyer resigned himself to his fate, and tried to think of something.

"Well…ahh….Damn it. Alright, it's really easy to explain…"

* * *

THE END

* * *

Thank you all for sticking around till the end of my story. You all have been so wonderful with your comments and your constant support, and your patience with my inability to keep a good update system going. I want to say it's been wonderful fun, and ff.net, reviewers, and my own criticism willing, I'd like to count this story as a success.

Fritz Will Get You: Aww, don't cry. I did my best to update within a week, and I hope you liked it!

Niani: Well, I'm glad you liked it, even though no Skinner torture. Though, I noticed that Skinner is tortured a lot in fanfiction, though you usually see it in Jekyll and Sawyer. I think that the person that really doesn't get tortured all that much is Nemo.

Silent Bob 546: Well, I know it wasn't much, but the holy people's reaction to her was there, and I'm glad you liked the chapter so well. I hope you liked the ending as well!

Clez: It's here! Look no further. I'm glad you liked the fight, I'm always nervous about the fight scenes I write. I hope you like the ending!

Steffi-333:I'm glad you found the last chapter so enjoyable. I hope you like the last chapter as well.

Thank you all again and please leave your final comments on your way out.


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